Review of He Got Game (1998) by Mandela W — 25 Jul 2016

The game of basketball is a great one. It's a fantastic game that brings everyone and anyone together and is one of the great all American sports. Spike Lee is someone who knows and still knows this very well. This is at the heart of He Got Game. Spike Lee directs the type of basketball picture not seen on the big screen at the time.

Lee's 98 feature is about Jake and Jesus shuttlesworth. Jake is a convict in prison and one day he gets a deal from the warden that his sentence will be lightened if he can convince his star player son to go to one of the big state colleges in the country. Jesus is no ordinary star player he is one of the most sought after ones in the country, that means every league in the NCAA wants him. the main conflict of the story is that jake was responsible for the accidental murder of his wife jesus's mother and so jesus harbors a lot of hate for jake. Jake has only 1 week to convince his son and hopefully mend his relationship with him as well.

Right off the bat it started great. I Really liked the opening credit scenes. it's a really impactful showing of basketball and its impact on kids and adults everywhere. spike lee does an amazing job of showing the beauty and art of the game and also how it can affect people. he shoots it very documentary style but with cinematic flair too it. His story telling ability in this film is almost Spielberg like its incredible. As someone who loves basketball and loves watching it I really dug this film! this film is dope favorite basketball film ever. I am actually convinced that if the 10 film extension rule had happened in 98 this would have made the Oscars best picture category, its that good! great choice of music for the soundtrack.

I was impressed ray allen can actually act. he doesn't force it with each line and he has quite a demeanor that is extremely rare to find with actor who was or is a pro athelete. Jesus is a very righteous and level headed guy and he's tryna stay humble while making a decision that will change his life. He was interesting to watch. It was cool seeing all the nba cameo's in there. As far as my man denzel he does it again. Jake Shuttlesworth is a man with redemption on his mind but he knows he cant dwell on the pain of what happened to his wife his sons mother he's got to do something.

The film actually reminds me of the hype that came with Lebron james when he was getting ready to go to the NBA. the script is phenomenal! so well written. If you love basketball and want to see a great film on it check this film out.