The Last Dance

⭐ 10.0/10

(Originally written by Tim)

Another 10! This doc filled the void left from the NBA season, and it is hard to give it anything other than a perfect score. I have an old box set with Michael Jordan's top 5 games in full, plus 6 different documentaries, so a 10 hour documentary was a dream come true and a return to my childhood. He was always a mythical figure in my life, since I never watched him while he was still active, yet everything in the NBA is still in his shadow, and I idolized him as a kid.

The hype cycle for this doc kind of hurt my viewing a bit here. Everyone was saying there will be tons of never before seen footage, and that when it is over you will hate MJ (notoriously a bully). There was some really cool new footage, but not nearly enough to satisfy me. And this doc is clearly an autobiography, and all of Mike's shortcoming bolster the idea that he is the ultimate champion. Kind of an ends justifying the means thing, and I wish it could have been a bit more unbiased.

Regardless, I loved reliving all the different playoff series', and the hurdles he had to overcome in his life. The best parts were when that polished Jordan layer would come off, and you truly felt bad for the most popular man in the world. Zero privacy and tons of hate thrown his way, he sacrificed a ton to be the best. His wife and friends are conspicuously absent, and the idea that this hints towards other things he had to sacrifice is pretty heartbreaking.

They also cover his life pretty exhaustively, and end the doc on the perfect final moment... except it wasn't the final moment. An epilogue from his time on the Wizards would have been great, since I think that story is pretty rarely told, and could have easily filled 2 episodes.

He is a pretty magnetic character, with good looks, incredible talents, and enough flaws to make him semi-relatable. Would recommend even if you don't love sports, since his cultural impact is very large as well.