The Last Dance
Director: Jason Hehir
Rating: 4.5/5
Available on Netflix
Ever since the trailer of The Last Dance was released last Christmas Eve, fans of Michael Jordan and the all-conquering Chicago Bulls have been waiting with bated breath for the 10-part series. The trailer started with visuals of a video vault and slides that said “Never Seen”, “Never Heard” and “The Untold Story” before showing the primary characters of the Bulls’ side in animated moods. It sent the basketball fans into a tizzy.
Many sport documentaries in the past have made similar promises but not all have delivered. It’s one thing to have access to rare archive footages but it’s a skill to pick the right ones, stitch it together and make it an appetising affair for the fans. One needs patience to rummage through endless hours of footages, an eye to handpick the most dramatic moments — there’ll be lots of it — and then some brilliant narrative talent to make the fans go through the same emotion as the protagonists. The Last Dance, directed by Jason Hehir, delivers on all those fronts, making it a must-see show for sports and even non sports fans this summer on Netflix.
For the uninitiated, The Last Dance was the theme given by legendary coach Phil Jackson as it became apparent that he and some of the famous players of the Bulls side would be leaving the NBA franchise following the conclusion of the 1997-98 season. The team was gunning for a second three-peat (sixth title) and Jackson felt it would be an apt title to motivate the team so that they can disband on a glorious high.
The series takes Jordan’s beloved fans through an emotional roller-coaster ride. Narrated primarily by the great man himself and interwoven with wonderful anecdotes from his former team-mates, journalists and even former US President Barack Obama, the series stunningly showcases the good, the bad and ugly side of Jordan.
Be it his obsession about being the greatest ever, the sibling rivalry with elder brother Larry that lit the early competitive fire in him, the strong bond that he shared with his parents James and Deloris, the addiction to gambling that attracted a lot of negative press, every facet of Jordan’s life is wonderfully portrayed.
The seventh episode, which focuses on the tragic death of Jordan’s father in October 1993. Jordan is devastated after hearing his father has been killed and having already won three NBA titles and an Olympic gold, he decides to walk away from the spotlight and tries his hand at baseball.
The time away brings back the joy inside him and Jordan returns in March 1995 before going to lead Bulls to a fourth title in the 1995-96 season. Winning his first title without his father by his side and coincidentally on Father’s Day, Jordan is shown sobbing on the floor of the locker room. The recollection even has the present-day Jordan in tears.
One wonders what Asif Kapadia, the award-winning director of Senna and Diego Maradona, would have done with these footages. Nonetheless, Hehir’s work is masterful. It’s a riveting tale of one of the greatest basketball players and an iconic franchise. For fans starved of sporting action due to the Covid-19, this makes great viewing.