Love him or hate him, Spike Lee is one of the most fascinating directors the world has to offer.

When he’s on ("Do the Right Thing," "Malcolm X"), he transforms the cinema and molds it to his own liking, and, in the process, he can bring out feelings of power, betrayal and madness that movies rarely uncover. Even his weaker attempts ("Girl 6," "Crooklyn") never fall flat, and though his trickiness may not work, it’s never boring.

Lee’s latest, "He Got Game," is neither another moment of glory nor a waste. A promising story with a few wonderful performances are the key to this basketball drama, while only Lee’s overreaching (always his undoing) is off.

We’ve all seen shots of Lee sitting courtside at Knicks games, yelling and even getting into verbal battles with Pacers star Reggie Miller. We know he’s passionate about what this film simply refers to as "The Game."

Basketball is more than that, though, to Lee and the characters in this film. It’s no mistake that the title song, sung by Public Enemy, runs a parallel between the words "game" and "life."

To Jesus Shuttlesworth (NBA star Ray Allen), basketball is life. Since a wee age, his father has pushed him to be the best, overseeing that he practices late into the night. And that’s the reason Jesus is now one of the top high school prospects in the country.

All of the major colleges want him (many real-life coaches put in cameos), and he’s also receiving pressure to go straight into the NBA, à la Kobe Bryant.

Jesus’ father, though, can’t share the moment with him. Jake (Denzel Washington) is serving a lengthy prison sentence.

The governor of New York, however, has a few tricks up his sleeve. He’s a powerful alum of the fictional Big State, and he wants Jesus to go there. Through a prison warden (Ned Beatty), a deal is struck – if Jake can get Jesus to sign a letter of intent to Big State, his sentence can be significantly decreased.

Temporarily released from prison, Jake returns home, to be welcomed by daughter Mary (Zelda Harris from "Crooklyn") but shunned by Jesus.

Jesus’ attitude can be justified, though. Everybody in his life, save cousin Booger (Hill Harper), has turned into a leech. His girlfriend is going behind his back to talk to agents, his uncle (Bill Nunn) keeps reminding Jesus about "all he’s done" for him and seemingly everybody else is only interested in whether or not he’s made a college decision yet. The sudden reappearance of Jake only seems to reek of money-grubbing.

"He Got Game" is, in basketball terms, a one-on-one movie. It’s Jake versus Jesus in a battle that will end in either love or hate.

When both aren’t involved, though, the film loses its game. Jake begins a relationship with his prostitute neighbor (Milla Jovovich), a subplot that goes absolutely nowhere and only serves to provide Denzel with more scenes. Lee doesn’t seem to realize that even though the ads give Washington top-billing, it’s really Allen’s film.

And Allen is up to the task. While Lee comes close to throwing away "He Got Game," it’s Allen, in an amazing debut performance, who saves the film.

This kid, if he should ever cut his basketball career short, has a future in Hollywood. He got two games.