Not Spike's best; not his worst

Rating: 7/10 (11 April 2007)

Director Spike Lee loves basketball. You can see him court side at Knicks games. A basketball movie fits right in with his love and this one starring Denzel Washington as a father let out of prison to convince his son to sign for the Governor's alma mater is not a bad movie. Of course Denzel's mission is complicated by the fact that he is in prison for killing his son's mother, and he named him "Jesus." Try to overcome that! But, we do get a good father-son movie in the attempt.
Really, anytime we get to see Denzel is a good thing, and this also has Milla Jovovich (Resident Evil) and Rosario Dawson (Sin City, Grindhouse), and birthday girl, Jennifer Esposito. Of course, crash is a better vehicle for seeing Jennifer, but this one was available for a birthday tribute.
The only thing I don't like about Lee's movies is, that with few exceptions, he portrays all his female characters (in the current vernacular) as "nappy headed ho's." This one is no exception.