He Got Game (1998)

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1. 

   JimiAntiloop

   Masterwork! 6 years 10 months ago
2. 

   Siskoid

   In He Got Game, Spike Lee explores the so-called escape from the ghetto via sports stardom, and as is his wont, he uses a mix of real people from the basketball world and actors, makes social commentary on the cuff, and drops in some interesting directorial ideas along the way. A father and a son (Denzel Washington and actual NBA player Ray Allen) act as contrast, both talented, but one unable to escape the path society has traced for him, out of prison for a week to help the younger man - on a purer path - make his decision. There's a lot made of the fact that the kid is called Jesus (and not pronounced in Spanish either), which plays as a gag, but also with Biblical themes. The Father, angry, displaced, yet wise. The Son, strong in the face of overwhelming temptation, that week really like those days in the desert. But Lee pulls focus off that center with a subplot involving the father's relationship with the prostitute next door, and I'm not sure why. You've got Denzel, you want to do more with him, sure, but how does this enhance the story? My other problem with the film is the score, treating basketball like it's Cape Fear or something... I never got used to it. An important decision looms, it could mean the loss of a soul, danger of a certain kind on Coney Island... okay, but I don't think it quite works. The Public Enemy tracks are great though. 2 years 10 months ago
3. 

   YXTES

   

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   I do not know where to begin, I will start with the plot it was just bad I'm sorry but it was all over the place and at times I could not tell who the main character was whether it was the dad or the son. The ending was just awful like there was no fulfillment and purpose to the film. I guess you could argue that the point was the son forgave his dad however that was portrayed poorly at the end or you could suggest that getting his son to stay away from people taking advantage of him by tricking him with money and girls but he seemed smart enough to of not done that by himself so his dad was not really needed in the plot.
   
   Also, they created a side plot with that woman in the apartments which I felt like they just gave up and didn't bother to conclude and just threw in a quick scene of her on a bus leaving at the end but it did not feel like a fulfilled ending to that story. Also, it was super unrealistic as I do not think a woman forced to be a sex worker will then want to have sex all night straight after being "saved".
   
   Oh and don't get me started with the magical basketball at the end that magically teleported from the prison to the court. 4 years 9 months ago

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