Game opens with a mosaic of people playing basketball, a game of universal appeal that crosses man’s artificial lines of difference. As the plot develops, we see a myriad of relationships - father/son, boyfriend/girlfriend, brother/sister, player/coach, posse/athlete, agent/prospective client - all with varying levels of conflict to which anyone can relate. What’s more, the characters in Game do not merely share a screen as in other Spike Lee films, but actually have a relevant connection. At times, the characters seem almost allegorical. Significantly, the relationships are the vessels through which Lee depicts the pressures and ethical dilemmas inherent in the most important decision in Jesus’ life.

As Game develops, you’ll discern a common characteristic descriptive of the relationships: egoistical. Seemingly, everyone’s actions are motivated by what’s best for Jesus, yet there’s a certain level of distrust among the characters and not coincidentally, everyone stands to gain something from his success. It is disappointing, however, that the interaction between Jesus and Jake was so predictable. Their interface and the conflict between them is the essence of the film, but there are no twists. Jesus hates his father who was an overbearing tyrant before his imprisonment. Jake is now repentant and wants to be the father he never was to Jesus. What’s so novel about that? Nothing and that’s a problem. It would have been more effective if Jake and Jesus were allowed to operate outside the arbitrary boundaries set by Lee.

Relationships aside, Denzel Washington does an exceptional job of portraying Jake. He’s convincing and displays a facility with the material that makes him easy to watch. With Ray Allen, on the other hand, hang your head the way a parent does in response to a child’s royal screw-up of his/her lines in the school play. Granted, Allen is a pro basketball player in real life and not an actor. Maybe that explains why he monotonously and rather unemotionally delivered his lines as opposed to feeling the character.