As much as Spike Lee's Inside Man was a bank heist movie, it was also, at its heart, a story about social justice. Initially, it felt like the robbers, led by Dalton (Clive Russell), were simply stringing along the police. Marshaled by Detective Frazier (Denzel Washington), the robbers hatched a plan to escape among the hostages. However, as cool as the finale was, it has a major plot hole.
The cops' raiding was a pretty weird decision, considering the robbers indicated they would shoot civilians after faking a murder for the cameras. That said, Dalton wasn't with the robbers when they embedded themselves with the escapees. The big twist of Inside Man's ending was that he remained hidden in the storeroom.
The Twist Ending of Inside Man, Explained
The twist is what the title of the film -- Inside Man -- refers to. Dalton literally remained inside the bank with mysterious diamonds and walked out a week later just like he said he would, leaving clues to the bank owner's nasty Nazi past. But this required a lot of luck to pull off after they retrofitted the stock room. It's ridiculous that no one noticed the room was smaller. Furthermore, Dalton occupied that small space without sneezing, snoring or making any noise to let people know he was hidden behind the wall. The fact that he had his own toilet is preposterous as well since it was just a hole in the floor. Not to mention if someone came for material in the printer boxes -- something popular in banks due to frequent document printing -- the ruse would have been up.
In addition, when Dalton crawled out from the confined space, he had no one keeping watch, so anyone could have caught him in the act. As he left the room, people in the corridor watched him in shock because no one saw anyone go in that direction. It didn't help that he was dressed casually and held bags, looking like he had just robbed the bank. Simply put, he looked way too suspicious, which was why an executive coming down the stairs even did a double-take. However, the fact no one raised a red flag seems unlikely, and it's a major risk that could have scuppered the flick's entire premise.
As Dalton departed, the guards were stunned too. After all, they knew everyone coming in and out of that one entrance. Yet, when Dalton caught their attention, they just looked at each other quizzically rather than interrogate him about leaving a bank with a giant bag.
Inside Man's big finale is all plot convenience, much like the biggest one in the Doctor Strange sequel. Dalton had to escape to allow Frazier to go chase the Nazi ring he left in the vault. Ironically, Dalton prided himself on not being seen, despite being spotted by many people and cameras. Not even sunglasses could have hidden his face, and it undid all the work he laid down for the heist where he blinded the cameras. It didn't feel as believable as if he had someone on the inside helping pave the way for an exit. The whole sequence was out of character for Dalton, who was too calculating and would never rely on sheer luck.