Director Spike Lee returns to form after the ill-conceived She Hate Me with this smart and emotionally complex thriller. One of his strongest films in recent years, it combines a slick heist movie with a subtle exploration of post 9/11 society. Denzel Washington is sharply charismatic as a police hostage negotiator called in after Clive Owen's criminal crew lays siege to a Manhattan bank. What begins as a routine scenario suddenly becomes a powder keg of corruption and intrigue, as a shady power broker (Jodie Foster) arrives to cut an independent deal with the robbers on behalf of the bank's chairman. The subsequent cat-and-mouse game has the character-driven punch of Dog Day Afternoon, but with a dynamic visual and structural style that intensifies the twisting drama. Lee handles the material shrewdly, balancing tension with dark humour. However, it's his succinct commentary on racial prejudice and preconceptions that gives this sophisticated picture its distinctive edge.

When an armed, masked gang enter a Manhattan bank, lock the doors and take hostages, the detective assigned to effect their release enters negotiations preoccupied with corruption charges he is facing.