ESPN’s documentary series “The Last Dance” was set for release in late June, but the 10-part docu-series was fast-tracked to March when the COVID-19 pandemic started and people were hungry for not just content, but more specifically, sports-related fare. A smart decision.
What “The Last Dance” has, in abundance, is urgency, zeroing in on the communal aspect of sports, which is something many are desperately in need of right now. Centered around Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls’ pursuit of the 1997-98 NBA Championship, the docuseries is an editing feat of the highest-order, juggling multiple story threads together by examining Jordan’s legacy, the conflicts between teammates, specifically focusing on one important interconnected individual with each episode. I haven’t seen editing this masterful in a documentary since 2016’s ESPN and Ezra Edelman’s incendiary 7-hour O.J. Simpson doc, “OJ: Made in America.”
The brilliance of “The Last Dance” isn’t just in how it lifts the curtain on a man who everyone has been curious about. Even though Jordan was one of the most recognizable figures in the sports world, the peak of his fame happened when the world was less interconnected, before social media, and so most of what we knew about the basketball icon came from watching him play and star in a major blockbuster hit (“Space Jam”). What “The Last Dance” does is give us access to MJ’s mind and his experiences as, quite possibly, the most popular person on earth for a nearly 10-year span. The focus and drive rarely deteriorated, even when the cameras were glued on him wherever he went. That’s the legend.
I have seen 6 episodes of “The Last Dance,” which was directed by Jason Hehir, who uses archival footage and personal/honest interviews with Bulls — past and present — to tell his story. Although every episode tackles MJ’s life and career in chronological order, he also turns out to be a fascinating talking head. Hehir also has a significant portion of the series concentrating on the people who helped Jordan and the Bulls achieve their 6 championships run in the ‘90s: there’s Zen-like coach Phil Jackson, Jordan’s highly-talented sidekick, Scottie Pippen, known back then as the “second best Basketball player in the world,” and Dennis Rodman. Another 7-hour series could have been made solely just about Rodman, but the lone episode we do get in “The Last Dance” (Titled “III”) is a real doozy, as it tries to get us to understand the enigma behind the outlandish facade of Rodman’s cross-dressing, daily hair-coloring, and uber Vegas-partying psyche. In and of itself, Chapter III is the highlight of the docuseries so far.
At a time when people just want to escape the grim realities of quarantine, “The Last Dance” is one of those rare documentaries that makes you live a special moment in time. It encapsulates how art and escapism can collaborate together with non-fiction, and thrust you into an immaculately-calibrated journey. Hehir’s film is a celebration of not just the greatness of that 1998 championship team, but whether all the turmoil that came before its victorious outcome was worth all the drama. Teammates, coaches, and members of the Jordan inner circle all laugh about it now, but for us, the result turns out to be a timeless sports soap opera for the ages. [A-]
The film arrives unrated, set to screen in 2,000+ theaters this weekend, but is already plagued by disastrous early reviews, amounting to a 29% score on Rotten Tomatoes.