Lacking the moral indignation and militant politics of Lee's former work, this vibrantly colorful father-son melodrama is soft at the center, but it's one of the most accessible films Lee has made and Denzel Washington is terrific.
Overview
A basketball player's father must try to convince him to go to a college so he can get a shorter prison sentence.
Director and cast
Critics on Rotten Tomatoes
Top critics, in their words
At the end of Mr. Lee's movie, all you feel is the distraction of Mr. Lee's stylistic exhibitionism, without which, I concede, he might not be regarded as a genius in some quarters.
[Lee] gets a charming performance from Allen, who, in his acting debut, occupies his pedestal with grace and diffidence.
As usual, Lee tries many kinds of stylistic effects and uses wall-to-wall music (by Aaron Copland and Public Enemy); what's different this time is how personally driven the story feels.
Most scenes play too long, with a surplus of ideas, textures, tones and characters, and after 134 minutes it's clear Lee's problem with closure hasn't gone away.
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