This confident and intelligent look at a clash between a father and son, set against the high-pressure world of American basketball, is one of Spike Lee's best films.

As always with Lee, there's as much to infuriate as stimulate audiences, but Denzel Washington draws you in to his violent character as the jailed father paroled to persuade his estranged son (Ray Allen) to sign with the governor's high school.

All the details seem exactly right, even if the views aren't, and the long film swirls along grippingly, helped by a surprise choice - Aaron Copland's distinguished score.