Inside Man is clever, downright funny at times, and offers several plot twists that keep one guessing for about 90 minutes. There are some absolutely terrific one-liners that blow me away in their perfect timing and delivery. This movie also becomes a drawn-out endeavor that teeters on disintegrating into triteness during much of the last, mainly superfluous 30-plus minutes.

Detective and hostage negotiator Keith Frazier (Denzel) is under investigation for a missing $140,000, which puts him and his partner Bill Mitchell (Chiwetel) in the police dog house. But as luck would have it, the first-string negotiator is out of town and these two get a chance to make a redemptive mark while responding to a bank robber-hostage situation that has been meticulously planned and expertly executed by Dalton Russell (Clive) and his band of cohorts.

However, it quickly becomes apparent that this is no ordinary bank heist. Dalton makes demands that are completely unreasonable then stalls for time. He sends out hostages, then next threatens to kill one per hour. Things just do not add up. Equally suspicious is the creepy behavior of bank owner Arthur Case (Christopher) who will do anything to keep the contents of safe deposit box 372 a secret. To do this, he brings in Madeline White (Jodie) whose job title is undefined but when we first meet her she is helping the nephew of a suspected terrorist negotiate a Manhattan apartment contract and is later, almost admiringly, called a “magnificent cunt” by a high-ranking public official.

This story takes many turns as Detective Frazier and Russell go toe-to-toe. It doesn’t help the situation that Captain Darius (Willem) is nipping at Frazier’s heels and second-guessing every move the tarnished cop makes. When it appears that Frazier has worked Russell into a murderous frenzy, things quickly head into a downward spiral. Throughout Inside Man, most things are not as they look and one swiftly gets on board for a surprising and circuitous ride: for most of the time, that is. Denzel, as Frazier, manages to deliver some very funny, interesting lines to, at once, show his character’s vulnerability and his determination to not be beaten. Equally convincing is Clive as the gaunt, quick-witted thief with a conscience and an ulterior motive that is perhaps even more important than money. Chiwetel Ejiofor (Love Actually, Dirty Pretty Things, She Hate Me) is again delightful even in this small role.

Unfortunately, that dynamic duo cannot disguise a few disappointing components. Watching Christopher Plummer try to move is painful as he must be as old as Methuselah. I mean he was not a young man in The Sound of Music. While I admire his fortitude, I should not be thinking about his creaking bones while watching him perform. Also in the “did-not-work” column was the talented Jodie Foster as the ice-for-blood bitch. She looks the part, but fails to reach the heights of true detached, bitchy greatness that actresses such as Sharon Stone and Sigourney Weaver can attain. Instead, she seemed a little uncomfortable and I laughed out loud at her bumbling delivery of lines such as “…Detective, my bite is far worse than my bark.” Hmm… I was not convinced that Jodie was capable of biting down on a hotdog in this role, much less serving as a worthy opponent. This was bad casting. And last but not least, why must Spike do that conveyor-belt walking thing? It fits in some of his movies, but here it wins the dumbest-scene-of-the-movie award. Stop it, Spike. Just stop it.

Bottom line: though flawed in some places, Inside Man is definitely worth seeing.