Director Preston A. Whitmore II brings the thrill of the street to the big screen with a fast-moving tale of underground basketball that proves no matter what team you play for, in the end it's all about how much game you've got. The stroke of midnight has sounded and the crowd has gathered; it's time for some basketball. Forget about the rules of the NBA, though, and throw those college credentials out the window because they don't mean a thing in this court. In a converted rail station, the
only players who gain respect are the ones left standing when the clock hits zero, and the current champions have been standing way too tall for far too long. Now a new generation is ready to take over the top spot, and young hopefuls Tech (Anthony Mackie) and Cruise (Wesley Jonathan) are leading the charge. With everything on the line and the challenge of a lifetime before them, these too young street-ballers will be forced to out-dribble, out-shoot, and out-run their more experienced competitors in order to win the game and pave the way for the next crop of street smart shooters. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
Much as they would like it to, basketball can't save the youthful inner-city players here. Nor does the ultra-fast-paced street version of the sport save this movie from predictability and tedium.
Just a few more tweaks and Crossover could have been something special -- a truly terrible movie to savor for the ages. But nooo, this street ball movie has to settle for middle-of-the-road badness.
Crossover has one redeeming quality: a heart that's in the right place. It's a bad movie with a good message -- but does anyone really want to pay $10 for an ABC After School Special version of He Got Game?
A lot of Crossover's manifest failings could be forgiven if the on-court action was thrilling. But Space Jam had better basketball scenes. For that matter, so did Dr. J's The Fish That Saved Pittsburgh.
Even though the plot forgoes the formulaic slam-dunk, hackneyed devices, low production values, and the stilted direction (by Preston A. Whitmore II) dribble the ball off the shoe and out of bounds.
The movie is also burdened by some amateurish acting in supporting roles, but Mackie and Jonathan are the real deal, and they get good support from Wayne Brady as a smarmy sports agent.
The budget appears to have been blown entirely on a single yellow motorcycle and team uniforms for the underground streetball games that are the film's raison d'être.
Dialogue needed to be BELIEVABLE to keep me interested whenever the performers talked.The only one that held my interest whenever he spoke was Wayne Brady (Vaughn) even though he was the sinister mind in this flick...Anthony Mackie (Tech) shining moments were brilliantly portrayed in this movie...and the basketball
moves were slickly portrayed. I liked this flick. Add another star if you are a Holcombe Rucker Park streetball fan ( NYC )!
Ooooooooh boy, I bet not many of the actors in this one openly admit to being in it. Just plain badly done. Writing was awful, direction was awful, and if I want to see acting this bad again, I'll go to a high school play. The lone bright spot was Lil JJ. He was entertaining.
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