He Got Game (1998)
Average Rating: 6.9/10
Reviews Counted: 61
Fresh: 49 | Rotten: 12
Though not without its flaws, He Got Game finds Spike Lee at or near the top of his late-period game, combining trenchant commentary with his signature visuals and a strong performance from Denzel Washington.
Average Rating: 6.6/10
Critic Reviews: 20
Fresh: 15 | Rotten: 5
Though not without its flaws, He Got Game finds Spike Lee at or near the top of his late-period game, combining trenchant commentary with his signature visuals and a strong performance from Denzel Washington.
liked it
Average Rating: 3.6/5
User Ratings: 43,025
My Rating
Movie Info
Denzel Washington and writer-director Spike Lee team for the third time with this contemporary basketball drama focusing on a promising athlete, the son of a convict-father. Jake Shuttlesworth (Denzel Washington) has been in prison for six years when tough prison-warden Wyatt (Ned Beatty) tells him that he's getting a temporary parole with the promise of a commuted sentence. However, there's a trade-off -- Jake must talk his son, Jesus Shuttlesworth (NBA star Ray Allen of the Milwaukee Bucks),
May 1, 1998 Wide
Jan 15, 2002
Buena Vista Internationa
Watch It Now
Cast
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Denzel Washington
Jake Shuttlesworth -
Ray Allen
Jesus Shuttlesworth -
Milla Jovovich
Dakota Burns -
Rosario Dawson
Lala Bonilla -
Hill Harper
Coleman (Bogger) Sykes -
Zelda Harris
Mary Shuttlesworth -
Jim Brown
Spivey -
Joseph Lyle Taylor
Crudup -
Ned Beatty
Warden Wyatt -
Bill Nunn
Uncle Bubba -
Michele Shay
Aunt Sally -
Thomas Jefferson Byrd
Sweetness -
Lonette McKee
Martha Shuttlesworth -
John Turturro
Coach Billy Sunday -
Roger Guenveur Smith
Big Time Willie -
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Kim Director
Lynn
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All Critics (61) | Top Critics (20) | Fresh (49) | Rotten (12) | DVD (2)
Lacking the moral indignation and militant politics of Lee's former work, this vibrantly colorful father-son melodrama is soft at the center, but it's one of the most accessible films Lee has made and Denzel Washington is terrific.
Top CriticAt the end of Mr. Lee's movie, all you feel is the distraction of Mr. Lee's stylistic exhibitionism, without which, I concede, he might not be regarded as a genius in some quarters.
[Lee] gets a charming performance from Allen, who, in his acting debut, occupies his pedestal with grace and diffidence.
As usual, Lee tries many kinds of stylistic effects and uses wall-to-wall music (by Aaron Copland and Public Enemy); what's different this time is how personally driven the story feels.
Most scenes play too long, with a surplus of ideas, textures, tones and characters, and after 134 minutes it's clear Lee's problem with closure hasn't gone away.
Washington's Jake Shuttlesworth looks tough and hard, an odd but refreshing turn for an actor long associated with handsomely heroic roles.
A long, boring, meandering, dog of a movie.
Lee's attack on how big business is not only ruining the game he loves but also playing with people's lives is direct and brave, while his passion, insight and intelligence are evident and admirable.
Though too long by a good half hour, Lee's latest film packs a genuine emotional punch.
Lee paints intimate characters who are about more than the game. Themes of integrity, honesty, loyalty and familial love are woven through the film resulting in a complex, thought-provoking human drama.
Shrewdly exposes the underbelly of college recruiting and the pressures exerted on talented high school basketball stars.
Flawed but powerful.
It is a wonderful thing to watch two artists work so well together. I am speaking, in this case, of Spike Lee and Denzel Washington.
The hypocritical misogyny of He Got Game is a fundamental weakness that reviewers so far have been happy to downplay or even to dismiss.
Lee should have drawn up a tighter game plan but just the same his hoops hoopla still has enough game (mostly in the form of Washington) to win over the audience.
As brilliant and perplexing as the filmmaker himself.
Only a director as good as Spike Lee could make a coherent movie out of this messy, jejune set-up ...
As much a technical achievement as a narrative one.
Audience Reviews for He Got Game
Super Reviewer
The movie explores how everyone - agents, politicians, legal guardians, even girlfriends - scrambles to get a piece of the possible glory and money behind a rising high school basketball star. But it also maintains a central focus on the basketball star and how close he is to reaching his dreams. This allows for an interesting mix in tones, where the character's field of dreams mixes with the harsh reality of the sport as a commercial entity, filled with people who's only goal, like in all business, is to make money.
At the heart of it all is Denzel Washington, a convicted murderer who happens to be this young star's father. He is let out on temporary parole to try and get his son to sign with a particular university basketball team. If he does, he might be released permanently. Regardless of the outcome, this allows the father to find some redemption in helping his son figure out his life. The end is anti-climactic, but beautifully executed, displaying Spike Lee at his artistic best.
Super Reviewer
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- Jake Shuttlesworth: Even I can't save this movie from the awkward direction of poser Spike Lee.
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Latest News on He Got Game
April 5, 2005:
Spike & Denzel to Team Up for a Fourth FlickBlackfilm.com snagged an interesting quote from controversial filmmaker Spike Lee. The director was...
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