A Must See: Spike Lee's Inside Man

First off, I have been an avid Spike Lee supporter since his first film, She's Gotta Have It. Heck, I even own a copy of his NYU student film, Joe's Bed-Stuy Barbershop: We Cut Heads. Spike has a real winner on his hands (as the $29 million opening weekend receipts can attest to) with his latest studio effort, Inside Man. I'm not going to give a way the plot, but comparisons with another classic bank heist film, Dog Day Afternoon are not unwarranted. Lee has caught a lot of criticism throughout his 20 year career for being something of a racial curmudgeon.....well perhaps by those who represent the mainstream media. Lee's prior films have for the most part been specific to the African-American community which can be offputting to the majority culture. A perfect example would be his seminal college themed film, School Daze. As a graduate of a historically Black university (go Hampton Pirates!!) I got the intent of this film....many White reviewers at the time did not and missed the mark completely. So unfortunately, many of Lee's films may not have been fairly evaluated because of this cultural impasse. His new film, which has some of Lee's trademark styling, is essentially a straight ahead studio piece. With a pinch of intrigue, a dash of intelligence and a drop of humor, Inside Man makes for a terrific cinematic dish.