MOVIEmeter
Top 5000
Up 305 this week

He Got Game (1998)

 -  Drama | Sport  -  1 May 1998 (USA)
6.8
Your rating:
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 -/10 X  
Ratings: 6.8/10 from 24,945 users   Metascore: 63/100
Reviews: 106 user | 70 critic | 20 from Metacritic.com

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

Director:

Writer:

0Check in
0Share...

Related News

Rosario Dawson
| The Guardian - Film News
Blu-ray, DVD Release: Red Hook Summer
| Disc Dish

User Lists

Related lists from IMDb users

a list of 964 titles created 10 Mar 2012
 
a list of 2369 titles created 4 months ago
 
a list of 10000 titles created 2 months ago
 
a list of 2653 titles created 11 months ago
 
a list of 91 titles created 11 Mar 2012
 

Connect with IMDb


Share this Rating

Title: He Got Game (1998)

He Got Game (1998) on IMDb 6.8/10

Want to share IMDb's rating on your own site? Use the HTML below.

Take The Quiz!

Test your knowledge of He Got Game.
9 nominations. See more awards »

Videos

Photos

Learn more

People who liked this also liked... 

Biography | Drama | Sport
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.6/10 X  

The true story of a newly appointed African-American coach and his high school team on their first season as a racially integrated unit.

Director: Boaz Yakin
Stars: Denzel Washington, Will Patton, Wood Harris
Coach Carter (2005)
Drama | Sport
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7/10 X  

Controversy surrounds high school basketball coach Ken Carter after he benches his entire team for breaking their academic contract with him.

Director: Thomas Carter
Stars: Samuel L. Jackson, Rob Brown, Robert Ri'chard
Blue Chips (1994)
Drama | Sport
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 5.8/10 X  

A college basketball coach is forced to break the rules in order to get the players he needs to stay competitive.

Director: William Friedkin
Stars: Nick Nolte, Mary McDonnell, J.T. Walsh
Drama | Sport
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 6.7/10 X  

Up-and-coming sports reporter rescues a homeless man ("Champ") only to discover that he is, in fact, a boxing legend believed to have passed away. What begins as an opportunity to resurrect Champ's story and escape the shadow of his father's success becomes a personal journey as the ambitious reporter reexamines his own life and his relationship with his family.

Director: Rod Lurie
Stars: Samuel L. Jackson, Josh Hartnett, Kathryn Morris
Drama | Sport
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 6.7/10 X  

A behind the scenes look at the life and death struggles of modern day gladiators and those who lead them.

Director: Oliver Stone
Stars: Al Pacino, Cameron Diaz, Dennis Quaid
The Wrestler (2008)
Drama | Romance | Sport
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 8/10 X  

A faded professional wrestler must retire, but finds his quest for a new life outside the ring a dispiriting struggle.

Director: Darren Aronofsky
Stars: Mickey Rourke, Marisa Tomei, Evan Rachel Wood
Drama | Sport
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 8.1/10 X  

A determined woman works with a hardened boxing trainer to become a professional.

Director: Clint Eastwood
Stars: Clint Eastwood, Hilary Swank, Morgan Freeman
Drama | Sport
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7/10 X  

When a plane crash claims the lives of members of the Marshall University football team and some of its fans, the team's new coach and his surviving players try to keep the football program alive.

Director: McG
Stars: Matthew McConaughey, Matthew Fox, Anthony Mackie
Rocky II (1979)
Drama | Sport
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 6.9/10 X  

Rocky struggles in family life after his bout with Apollo Creed, while the embarrassed champ insistently goads him to accept a challenge for a rematch.

Director: Sylvester Stallone
Stars: Sylvester Stallone, Talia Shire, Burt Young
Drama | Sport
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 6.9/10 X  

Fast Eddie Felson teaches a cocky but immensely talented protégé the ropes of pool hustling, which in turn inspires him to make an unlikely comeback.

Director: Martin Scorsese
Stars: Paul Newman, Tom Cruise, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio
The Fighter I (2010)
Biography | Drama | Sport
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.9/10 X  

A look at the early years of boxer "Irish" Micky Ward and his brother who helped train him before going pro in the mid 1980s.

Director: David O. Russell
Stars: Mark Wahlberg, Christian Bale, Amy Adams
Hard Ball (2001)
Drama | Sport
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 6.1/10 X  

An aimless young man who is scalping tickets, gambling and drinking, agrees to coach a Little League team from the Cabrini Green housing project in Chicago as a condition of getting a loan from a friend.

Director: Brian Robbins
Stars: Keanu Reeves, Diane Lane, John Hawkes
Edit

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
...
Ray Allen ...
...
Dakota Burns
...
Lala Bonilla
...
Coleman 'Booger' Sykes
...
Mary Shuttlesworth
...
Warden Wyatt
...
Spivey
...
Crudup
...
Uncle Bubba
Michele Shay ...
Aunt Sally
Thomas Jefferson Byrd ...
...
Big Time Willie
...
Coach Billy Sunday
...
Martha Shuttlesworth
Edit

Storyline

Tells the story of Jesus Shuttlesworth, the most sought after high school basketball prospect in the nation. Jesus and his dream to make it to the big ranks in professional basketball are overshadowed by his father, Jake, who is spending his life in prison for killing Jesus' mother. Written by David Landers <dml@gwis.com>

Plot Summary | Plot Synopsis

Taglines:

The father, the son and the holy game. See more »

Genres:

Drama | Sport

Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for pervasive language, strong sexuality, some drug content and violence | See all certifications »

Parents Guide:

 »
Edit

Details

Official Sites:

Country:

Language:

Release Date:

1 May 1998 (USA)  »

Also Known As:

A játék ördöge  »

Box Office

Budget:

$25,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

£42,999 (UK) (4 September 1998)

Gross:

£42,999 (UK) (4 September 1998)
 »

Company Credits

Show detailed on  »

Technical Specs

Runtime:

Sound Mix:

|

Color:

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1
See  »
Edit

Did You Know?

Trivia

Filmed in 23 days. See more »

Quotes

Jesus Shuttlesworth: I hate my name. What kind of name is Jesus anyway?
Jake Shuttlesworth: It's biblical.
Jesus Shuttlesworth: Yeah, no kidding.
See more »


Soundtracks

"Orchestral Variations"
Performed by London Symphony Orchestra
Aaron Copland, Conductor
Written by Aaron Copland
The Aaron Copland Fund for Music, Inc., Copyright Owner
Boosey & Hawkes, Inc., Solo Publisher
Courtesy of Sony Classical
See more »

Frequently Asked Questions

See more (Spoiler Alert!) »

User Reviews

A flawed film that still flies.

My two favorite Spike Lee movies are "Clockers" and "He Got Game" and they share similarities: both are about guys trying to keep integrity amidst characters whose primary motives are to persuade him to leave the path.

"He Got Game" gets the edge because I love basketball and because I'm a sucker for well done father-son conflicts. The basketball parts of this movie are absolutely brilliantly shot. Most sports movies share two commonalities: completely ridiculous storylines and actors who throw like sissies. He Got Game avoids both.

Okay, some parts of the story are hoky, but allowable. But what makes this movie work, similar to "Clockers" is that you get sucked into a main character whose nobility is tested at every turn. Will Jesus Shuttlesworth make it through the maze or fall prey to it? And will he be able to recognize that his father is not just one more flesh peddler? It makes for good drama. But above that, the basketball scenes just completely rock. They're examples of absolutely masterful cinematography and editing. In fact, the movie has some of the best montage sequences every put on film. Seriously.

Denzel is excellent in this movie. He plays a Jeckyll and Hyde and plays both sides well. This conflicted character was very easy to root for. (I can identify.) NBA perennial All-Star Ray Allen, while more than a little stiff at times, holds his own as a non-actor in a dramatic role.

He Got Game is a flawed piece of work: parts drag, it's not without its hokiness, and the subplot with Denzel and Jojovovich didn't quite fit. But the essential storylines work and play true: you believe in a conflict between father and son and you root for a high school basketball player who requires the wisdom of an adult to avoid the flesh peddlers. Kudos to Spike for not trying to hit us over the had with his message, but letting it unravel naturally.


28 of 33 people found this review helpful.  Was this review helpful to you?

Message Boards

Recent Posts
Best Basketball Movie rocafella91032
Off Topic: Where Lebron James will go? Cypherven
the soundtrack Shaggy37
the guy workin at the shoe store dreamman2399
Sinificance of quote by Denzel kingsfanevr24
LaLa's nationallity ChristianEdwards81
Discuss He Got Game (1998) on the IMDb message boards »

Contribute to This Page

Create a character page for:
?