Review: The Last Dance (2020)

The Last Dance (2020)

There is no denying that now is the perfect time for Netflix's magnum opus Michael Jordan docu-series, The Last Dance. 

For many of us - especially, basketball fans - the series hits that sports craving that all of us have been succumbing to since the day that covid ended sports for the year. No longer can we sit back in the evening, relax, and throw on whatever great matchup is on tv. No longer can we wear our favourite team's jersey while we cheer and cry through our team's triumphs and tribulations. And no longer can we simply watch incredible humans perform incredible athletic feats.

But, now, with The Last Dance, we are given not only a riveting in-depth look at one of the greatest athletes of all-time, but we can also revel in the awesome reels of footage and first-hand accounts of Michael Jordan's greatest performances. The Last Dance is simply almost everything a sports fan could ever ask for in a documentary series. 

There probably isn't a person in the world who doesn't know the name Michael Jordan. For every sport there is 'the greatest of all-time' and for basketball it's undoubtedly MJ. Through the 80's and 90's he took not only the basketball world by storm, but also the larger world as a cultural icon - but then, I don't need to talk about all of that because The Last Dance does a more than comprehensive walkthrough of all things Michael Jordan. The series' mesh of present day interview, game footage and historical footage (incredibly, a film crew followed the Chicago Bulls for much of their '98 season of 'The Last Dance') is the perfect setup for this kind  of series. 

The sole critique I would have of this great docu-series is that because Michael Jordan was a key producer and had final say on the final cut of the series, there is the feeling that certain critical parts of MJ and his career never go too deep. While there is a lot of discussion about his immense competitiveness, which often irked other players and individuals, everything is always ultimately shown in a positive light towards him. This is not to say that 'dirt' is needed within the series by any means, however, when a person produces and has final say over a series about themselves, there will always be the slight notion that certain aspects may have been held back.

All of that being said, The Last Dance is one of the finest sports documentaries around (likely rivals Hoop Dreams in the top-tier, though they are very very different from one another). For anyone who is missing watching sports or wants some escapism into one of the greatest eras of NBA history, you should most definitely sit down and get comfy for an awesome ten hours of basketball greatness.