He Got Game

1998 Directed by Spike Lee

The father, the son and the holy game.

A basketball player's father must try to convince him to go to a college so he can get a shorter sentence.

Denzel Washington Ray Allen Rosario Dawson Hill Harper Jill Kelly Chasey Lain John Turturro Shaquille O'Neal Charles Barkley Michael Jordan Milla Jovovich Ned Beatty Robin Roberts Scottie Pippen Reggie Miller Bill Walton Dick Vitale Bobby Cremins Rick Pitino Jim Boeheim George Karl Clem Haskins Denny Crum Nolan Richardson Roy Williams John Chaney John Thompson Lute Olson Dean Smith Show All…

Alternative Titles

Rankkaa peliä, Man to Man, A játék ördöge, Yesh Lo et Ze, Last Game, 히 갓 게임, No perdonarás, Gra o honor, Tudo em Jogo, Sa înceapa jocul, Dobio je igru, Его игра, Його гра

drama

136 mins More details at IMDb TMDb Report this film

Popular reviews

Review by josh lewis ★★★★

a father uses his son as a vessel for all his suffering, burdens and hopes. "it's biblical." "yeah, no kidding."
Review by davidehrlich ★★★½

"all those lips all those hips all those honey dips."
the *most* Spike Lee joint there is? and the quintessential Denzel Washington performance.
that constant Copland score!
magical-realist touch certainly gives the impression that the bifurcated narrative comes together, but i get the impression that Spike was at war with his own cooked up abstractions... the director part of him wanted to let this story fly on its themes, but the writer part of him could never let that happen (hence, milla jovovich as one of the cinema's sweetest prostitutes). all the same, i cant' help but think that the ending works... the guard with the sniper rifle is a touch too far, and Ray Allen trying to command that long final shot is a bit of a laugh, but the shot counts even if it's off the rim.
Review by Logan Kenny ★★★★★ 5

this is one of the best movies i’ve ever seen
Review by <Todd> ★★★★½ 2

"That's something I didn't teach you...that's something you gotta learn on your own." -Jake Shuttlesworth,
- Spike Lee Ranked: boxd.it/1XDiG
- 5x5 Directors Challenge 3 (spike lee 5/5): boxd.it/7ALXq
How is it that Ray Allen's horrible acting somehow makes this film better?
Mostly great performances in He Got Game, a film about a father trying to reconnect with his son, basketball, and a bunch of other stuff too. The direction is great because Spike Lee does things in film that it feels like other directors might be scared to. I love the transitions in this film and all of the creative ways he would introduce characters. This is one of my favorite uses of score ever. It's really important to how epic Lee wants to frame the circumstances of the film. This is high tier Spike Lee.
Review by Patrick Willems ★★★

Maybe I love basketball now
Review by Justin Peterson ★★★½

(The Average Joe’s Movie Club Cast Episode 3)
Writer and Director Spike Lee's love letter to his favorite sport (basketball).
"I pray you understand why I pushed you so hard! It was only to get you to that next level, Son. I mean, you's the first Shuttlesworth that's ever gonna make it out of these projects, and I was the one who put the ball in your hand, Son! I put the ball in your crib!"
This Spike Lee joint tells the story of a father named Jake Shuttlesworth brilliantly played by Denzel Washington, who loses everything as a result of him trying so hard to push his son Jesus to greatness on the court. I really enjoyed seeing this…
Review by Mike D'Angelo ★★½ 2

50/100
[Originally written on my blog.]
Not as lame as I once thought, mostly because Spike's having such a good time formally—practicing moves he'd put to more stirring use a few years later in 25th Hour—and because Denzel gets to be kind of a dick, which always brings out the best in him. You can tell the film was made by someone genuinely in love with the game, which counts for a lot. Bonus points as well for the climactic one-on-one confrontation, which doesn't pretend there's any chance that a middle-aged amateur might best the country's #1 high-school prospect, whatever minor psychological advantage he might have as the kid's dad. Still, the script really is pretty terrible, especially when it…
Review by Jacob ★★★½ 15

FATHERS DAY MARATHON (Part 1)
Another case of Denzel Washington carrying another film on its shoulders. As a huge basketball fan and basketball player who plays just about everyday, this film struck me in ways that benefit for my personal favor. There are some powerful Father and Son moments in this film, especially during the bittersweet climax. There are plenty of great basketball scenes in motion as well. Each shot feels authentic. Usually with sport scenes the players look scripted unlike here the film shows the missed shots. Spike Lee again nails it with the camera work and editing of the film but again his flaw is what holds this film back from being truly great. The side plots are…
Review by Steven Sheehan ★★★★

Part Eleven of the Spike Lee Feature Film Project

Denzel's definitely got game. Lee's eleventh feature film is centred around his other obsession, basketball, how the lure of fame and fortune is thrown at the feet of the young men who are touted for big things in the game. With Lee's passion and a surprisingly effective performance from real-life b-ball star Ray Allen, finding authenticity held few problems.
Allen does what is required of him in most departments, although that final edge, a certain depth is lacking from his delivery. Not that it matters too much, as Mr Washington more than makes up for any missing emotional depth with the type of complex realisation of his character that has made…
Review by Matt The Snapper ★★★★

Spike Lee makes basketball even cooler than it already is.
Review by Kristen Yoonsoo Kim ★★★½ 2

about the various players in a system... even the best are trapped within it
Review by Danny Webster ★★★ 2

Director Project
Director: Spike Lee (Final Film)
What have I learned about Spike Lee? First and foremost - despite misguided preconceptions, I've enjoyed his films. He has a real genuine voice and he has a fiery passion, and with He Got Game when his passion is at full burn, it really does tell.
That, and he just so happens to have a genius performance from Denzel Washington to go along with it; a performance I might add that adds and adds and adds and adds and adds so much to the film; so much in fact; I forgot the film focused (not overly) on Basketball. A sport which although I have some respect for simply because it has obviously given…

Recent reviews

Review by Boxer_Santaros

''The 3rd planet is sure that they're being watched
By an eye in the sky that can't be stopped
When you get to the promised land
You're gonna shake that eye's hand''
I keep trying to write something long and smart but it's no use, nothing I can possibly say could put into words how monumental a work this is to me, how perfectly this encapsulates some unseen cycle of birth and death and time, new generations evolving out of the past incrementally improving themselves and their surroundings and finding new ways to make the same mistakes all over again all at once, all in the same breath. Even as Jesus severs himself absolutely from his father he fully becomes…
Review by Dallas Fisher ★★★★

Watching Ray Allen and Denzel Washington play one on one was the coolest thing I've ever seen in a movie.
Review by Hanni ★★★★

Denzel Washington is an institution, great almost surrealist story about father, son, hate, love and basketball, also...that score!
Review by Chad Eberle ★★★

54
Review by andreworellana_ ★★½

I felt this was Lee’s weaker works. I had high expectations before watching the film. The poster looked great and the plot seemed intriguing. However, I felt at times the cinematography and choice in music felt comedic and didn’t match the emotional aspect of the scene.
Review by P-Man ★★★★

Basketball is my favorite sport. Malik Hassaan Sayeed is my favorite cinematographer. Ray Allen not only has the prettiest jumpshot in basketball history but this is a young ray allen who could handle and jump out of the gym with anyone. So it's genuinely basketball as poetry in motion. And it's surrounded by a real world full of chaos, as is expected from a Spike Lee joint. Also, Rosario Dawson would've made a great femme Fatale. And really, no one has ever shot Coney Island like Malik Hassaan Sayeed did in this and Girl 6.
Review by Taylor Mackay ★★★★½

Ray Allen woulda broken Denzel's ankles first crossover he pulled
Review by Florence Borowski ★★★★

ball iz lyfe - spike lee
Review by ImmigrantFilm ★★★

3.0/5.0 = Good
There are brief segments of HE GOT GAME that are so transcendently poetic that they easily register as some of Spike Lee's very best filmmaking; most of all that stunning final beat where Denzel throws the ball over the wall and it cuts to the same ball landing in the stadium where his son is practicing. I can likely draw comparisons to Scorsese's catalogue as well as much of the French New Wave in how creatively this edits sequences to support its visual poetry, but at the end of the day this really is all Spike Lee. It's honestly the most Spike Lee movie there; wrinkles and all. It's truly among the most visually audacious films Lee…
Review by stjackson8 ★★★

tThe first hour of the movie was a lot stronger than the second. The most interesting parts of the movie were the familial tension and dynamic between Jake, Jesus, and the little girl whose name escapes me and the exploration of a young talented character who everyone would like to exploit for profit. Classic Spike Lee style throughout and maybe a little too much expositional dialogue.
The back half left much to be desired. The Dakota subplot didn't seem necessary. The Booger can't ready subplot that came to being in the final ten minutes was a bit much. And frankly Jake deserved to lose with the lazy defense.
But, I liked it.
Review by radioshackdino

Denzel is fantastic in “Ray Allen Says No” a Spike Lee Joint. I think Washington is just what Spike Lee would have needed to elevate NBA 2K16’s Career Mode.
Review by A.J. Thomas ★★★★

Spike/Denzel Joint 3/4
I love the way this story unfolds. Every piece of information is perfectly withheld until the perfect time. I wish people brought up this movie more frequently in regards to the disproportionate treatment of high school and college athletes.