It’s not the stories of fights with his teammates, or all the interviews done with any number of people. It’s not even the legendary tales and level of human interest the name Michael Jordan brings to the table that makes this documentary so great.
It’s all about the access and previously unseen footage.
I know a lot of Jordan stories, and watching this has sometimes merely taken the things I already know about him off the book pages and onto the big screen. But everything behind the scenes has been unbelievable. It’s all fresh content. From his quick conversation after Game 7 of the Indiana series with Larry Bird, to his constant badgering of Scott Burrell in practice, or his workout facility Warner Brothers literally built for him while he was shooting Space Jam, and even several of his teammates calling him an asshole while still complimenting him in the same sentence. Not to mention the insider look at how they snuck Rodman out the backdoor to avoid the media the day after he skipped practice to go to Wrestlemania. It’s all raw and epic.
You can go into all the bullshit about what constitutes a real documentary, and all the power Michael Jordan had over everything that’s been released or left on the cutting room floor of this thing. Or what stories were 100% omitted. You can bring up the fact that Jordan’s first wife was left completely out of it, or say that Jerry Krause not being around anymore to defend himself against all the blame and harsh criticize he has taken for breaking up that team is immoral. Fine. Do all that. I’ll read about or watch that too. But from a pure footage and access standpoint, I give it a 10.
And the stuff about Steve Kerr in episode 9 is good enough for a documentary of its own.
In a time where everyone is starved for sports content and everything is instantly evaluated…don’t overthink it…that’s my take away on this whole documentary-series. Overall: good. Access and previously unseen footage: Amazing.
It’s really that simple.
