A convicted murderer (Denzel Washington) is released from prison for a week with orders to convince his son, a high school basketball superstar (played by real-life NBA star Ray Allen), to attend the warden's alma mater; if he succeeds, he's told, he'll be released permanently. Spike Lee, who wrote as well as directed this one, is at his best with the oncourt sequences, many of which he sets not to the usual hip-hop or rock anthems but to such stirring Aaron Copland works as "Fanfare for the Common Man" and "Rodeo"; at first it seems willfully perverse, but once you adjust your expectations it's a surprisingly effective juxtaposition of image and sound. The film falters, however, whenever it turns to the strained relationship between father and son, which is ridiculously maudlin and riddled with clichés (though less so than a subplot involving Dad and a downtrodden hooker). And while the non-professional Allen is clearly doing the best he can, he's not remotely in the same league with Washington, and the disparity is sometimes painful to watch. Not recommended. (M. D'Angelo)
He Got Game
(Touchstone, 136 min., R, avail Sept. 15, <b>DVD</b>) Vol. 13, Issue 5
He Got Game
Star Ratings
As of March 2022, Video Librarian has changed from a four-star rating system to a five-star one. This change allows our reviewers to have a wider range of critical viewpoints, as well as to synchronize with Google’s rating structure. This change affects all reviews from March 2022 onwards. All reviews from before this period will still retain their original rating. Future film submissions will be considered our new 1-5 star criteria.
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