"Inside Man" is the dull title of a crackerjack crime thriller that also is the most commercial movie Spike Lee has directed. Boxoffice is bound to be strong, but can be even stronger if Universal's marketing and promotions successfully convince a broad spectrum of moviegoers that this is their movie. "Inside Man" takes material familiar to the point of triteness -- a bank heist, a hostage standoff and corruption New York-style, elements that have an almost nostalgic 1970s glow -- then turns everything on its head so the movie actually ends up saying something about American culture in 2006.

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