It is interesting to see Spike Lee move into sports. Of course, everyone knows that Lee has been a fixture at many a Knicks game, but I personally though that ey would stick with the feature films for a while longer.
However, the work that Lee put into Kobe Doin’ Work is enough to get even those individuals that do not like sports into the rec room or wherever the film may be playing.
Where ESPN (the original company that aired the special) has done a number of different sports documentaries in the 30 years since it originally went on-line, Lee’s experience behind the camera is enough to make each scene pop in its own special way. By getting into Kobe Bryant’s mind as ey goes through the lead-up to the pivotal game against the San Antonio Spurs, fans can understand the sheer amount of work that goes into less than an hour of actual game play. For me, the best part of the film is when I began to realize that what Kobe makes look so easy and natural is something that takes a tremendous amount of time to plan out, ensuring that everyone is on the same page.
What I would personally like to see with future Lee-directed joints about sports would be a similar treatment of leaders of different sports. How would a film about Evgeni Malkin (hockey) or Derek Jeter compare to Kobe Doin’ Work, and what similarities or differences would viewers be able to see?
Kobe Doin’ Work is a ground-breaking work in sports documentaries, and is one that really should be looked at for anyone that wants to go and make a film in the field in the next fifteen or twenty years.
Rating: 8.5/10
Kobe Doin’ Work / 2009 Buena Vista / 84 Minutes / http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/features/kobedoinwork /