I admit, normally if the words "A Spike Lee Joint" came on during the credits of a movie I was seeing, I would stand up, curse loudly and use a pretzel as a weapon to take the audience hostage, demanding reparations for my ticket, a bus and a plane to New York where I would be allowed to slash Lee's tires before surrendering.

I take it back. Be not afraid this time. Inside Man may be directed by Lee, but you wouldn't know it unless his name was in the credits. That, plus the little plays on racial politics and the New York City setting (what, a cops-and-robbers flick in Kansas City? As if.). This one never delves into "kill whitey," though, and plays more like a Chris Rock routine where all sides take a hit and laugh about it.

I haven't seen the last few Denzel police action flicks and skipped Jodie's most recent thrillers, but after seeing almost every review was positive I gave this seemingly rote heist thriller movie a chance.

	What do you mean, these vests don't stop sharp barbs about racial injustice?

A homage to Dog Day Afternoon, Clive Owen is the robber who takes over a bank, ends up surrounded by cops and orchestrates the situation as everything gets all wiggy wacky. Clive has a "leave the gun, take the cannolis" approach to bank robbery. Movie heists are never "just about the money."

Jodie may be featured in all the advertising, but this is squarely Denzel's picture. Jodie has a small, if important, role as a power broker with the mayor's ear. She's quite good, and when they're on screen together you can just feel the whole of Hollywood moviestar history grinning down on them.

The impressive ensemble cast includes Willem Dafoe as a command post captain and Christopher Plummer as the sketchy bank owner who may or may not have a vested interest in the robbery.

Since we all know how the plot will turn, the story stays fresh by revealing bits and pieces at a time, flashing forward to interrogations with hostages who may or may not be hostage-takers. Even then, the extended ending requires an overabundance of exposition to explain the whys and hows of what just happened.

Only one thing bothered me. Near the end, Denzel is encouraged to drop the follow-up and told that people have moved on to something else. Trust me, as a guy who still sees reports on Natalee Holloway on my news, no one would just forget this odd robbery occurred and ended in mystery. Ever hear of D.B. Cooper? The mystery makes it even more newsworthy. The hostage crisis would warrant continuing coverage and a big "Developing Story" font, but the mystery would make for six-page Sunday special stories.

That's a minor quibble. I'm going to heartily recommend Inside Man because Lee's film looks good, flows smoothly, the language snaps without being typical cop flick stuff, and it's full of good humor and intrigue.

Yes, Spike Lee made a film I like. The world is truly changing its axis.

The verdict: