The plot's surprises are of the 'readily guessable but leaving you slightly smug' variety, which is a little less satisfying than the 'out of the blue/it turns out he's (probably) Keyser Söze' type but generally is a safer bet as it has a much shorter distance to fall if it fails. Also the film by no means hangs upon it's tricks, a tactic which is often disastrous. Instead it's a relatively typical hostage/heist movie with several slices of the especially cunning. Some parts of the robbers plan, which it would be criminal to give away here, are fiendishly smart and the whole thing is revealed in an carefully structured and engaging manner. The rather impressive cast is impressive, and while no one truly stands up and makes it their own there isn't a bum note to be found in the whole of the chorus. Each more than adequately holds the screen when it's their turn. There is only one character in the whole piece that you want to fail, and even he manages to evoke sympathy with a rather fine cameo.
I do have a couple of quibbles with it, but all are relatively minor. While the thieves plan has a couple of 'ooh that's smart' moments it lacks the 'holy crap, that's ingenius' appeal that I positively demand of anything calling itself a perfectly planned heist (see The Sting for details). Plus, the plan itself had a couple of flaws, relying on one major assumption and a somewhat contrived setup. These don't really detract from what is definitely a cracking plot, but calling itself perfect is asking for criticism. I was also slightly bugged by the odd directorial gimmicks Spike Lee seems to be keen on, such as the dolly shot, which felt out of place in what was otherwise a solid piece of directing.
Proving you don't need gunfire to achieve tension, smart, brave and occasionally funny, Lee manages to pull off one of the better heist movies available. Perhaps not perfect, but close enough.
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