Spike Lee’s Crime Classic That Puts a Smart Twist on Heist Films Loses Its Streaming Home

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The popular thriller Inside Man, featuring Denzel Washington, will soon be removed from Netflix, leaving at the start of the new year.

Okay, so if you’re a fan of clever thrillers, heads up! Netflix is taking down Inside Man on January 1st, 2026. I remember when this movie first came out – Denzel Washington is fantastic as a hostage negotiator who unexpectedly teams up with a bank robber for a seriously complex heist on Wall Street. But it’s not your typical robbery story; there’s a really cool twist. Jodie Foster is brilliant as a woman who gets involved on behalf of the bank, and it turns out the bank’s founder is hiding something big in a safety deposit box – something he’ll do anything to keep secret. It’s a smart, suspenseful ride, and you’ll want to catch it before it disappears from the platform.

Besides Denzel Washington and Jodie Foster, the film Inside Man featured Clive Owen as Dalton Russell, the clever criminal who orchestrated the robbery, and Christopher Plummer as Arthur Case, the bank’s founder who tries to safeguard his assets during the crisis. Willem Dafoe played Captain John Darius, an experienced NYPD Emergency Service Unit leader, and Chiwetel Ejiofor played Washington’s fellow detective.

Released in 2006, Inside Man quickly became a critically and commercially successful film. Made with a budget of about $45 million, it earned over $184 million worldwide, making it Spike Lee’s most profitable movie. Even today, nearly twenty years later, it still holds an 86

Reviewers loved Inside Man, describing it as fast-paced and smart, and a satisfying movie overall. They also highlighted its ability to cleverly avoid typical crime thriller clichés. Viewers generally felt the same way, giving the film an 85

Following the success of the 2006 film Inside Man, a sequel was planned, with the original screenwriter involved and director Spike Lee potentially returning. However, the project ultimately stalled. In 2011, Lee explained that the sequel couldn’t move forward due to a lack of financial backing.

Inside Man’s Surprise Sequel Was a Direct-to-Video Flop

Although Spike Lee never made a sequel to his film Inside Man, another one was created anyway. In 2019, Inside Man: Most Wanted came out on Netflix and for rental on various platforms. Set five years after the original, the movie follows a hostage negotiator and an FBI agent as they work together to resolve a dangerous crisis at the Federal Reserve Bank.

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M.J. Bassett directed the follow-up film, and Brian Brightly wrote the script. Neither the original director, Lee, nor the first film’s screenwriter, Russell Gewirtz, participated in this sequel. Critics weren’t impressed, and there aren’t enough reviews available to generate a Rotten Tomatoes score. Many viewers felt the film didn’t do justice to the original, criticizing its writing and lack of appreciation for Lee’s work.

Inside Man and Inside Man: Most Wanted leave Netflix on Jan. 1, 2026.

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2025-12-25 19:10