This 2006 thriller about a New York bank robbery is a generic departure for Spike Lee, but fortunately the man is incapable of making an apolitical film.

If Inside Man was simply the generic heist flick it appears on the surface it would be a great thriller, thanks to its perfect plotting, sharp script and great performances from Denzel Washington, Clive Owen and Jodie Foster (not to mention Chiwetel Ejiofor, Christopher Plummer and Willem Dafoe). But thanks to Lee’s subversive style and intelligence, it becomes an all-time great movie.

Behind the whip-smart story, the director delivers layers of post-9/11 commentary, exploring the racial and political dynamics of a New York rocked by the terror attacks, crumbling American moral authority, police brutality and unprecedented levels of surveillance. As the plot unfolds it reveals deeper conspiracies involving blood diamonds, the murky foundations of banks, and Nazis.

But Lee cleverly packages his political and genre commentary in quotable dialogue, cool characters and Dog Day Afternoon references, all to an eclectic soundtrack of Terence Blanchard and Bollywood music. This means he gets his points across without the lecturing quality of his more didactic work, even if the Dell product placement sticks out like a sore thumb-drive.

Smart, stylish and eminently satisfying, Inside Man makes the perfect double-bill with The Negotiator for a great night in(side), man.