“Inside Man” is a skilfully made crime film that is somewhat spoiled by the unnecessary characters, subplots and scenes it throws our way. It is directed by the popular Spike Lee (“Malcolm X”, “Do The Right Thing”) but here he doesn’t seem to realise when he’s hit the jackpot.

“Inside Man” focuses on an incredibly clever bank heist. It’s clever because it starts out making you believe this a simple robbery but escalates into a hostage situation and then it takes truly inspiring turns before tossing away the goods at the very end. You have the lead robber is played by Clive Owen (“The Bourne Identity”) and the negotiator is played by Denzel Washington (“Training Day”, “American Gangster”), you don’t need anyone else; others only clutter the place.

Denzel Washington is good here as he creates the sense of being a real negotiator as he’s flawed and not always true to his morals but ultimately a good guy. Clive Owen is sort-of the same but as the movie progresses, you’ll see the differences. Their interactions are brief but executed with precision. Willem Dafoe (“Spider-Man”), Jodie Foster (“Panic Room”) and Christopher Plummer (“Dragnet”) only seek to distract you from the thrills. They are needless and never amount to anything interesting, they take you out of the tension and bore you.

“Inside Man” features some very exciting moments and the heist itself is tense and extremely smart but it’s a shame the film feels the need to be filled with footnotes, side stories and pretty much everything else to remove you from the situation. Remember how focused “Die Hard” was, well the tension is the same but the focus is missing. Focusing on the tension is what is important and as important as character development and dialog is, dialog and character development can emerge from thrilling and tense scenarios but “Inside Man” doesn’t seem to understand this.