Arguably
one of the greatest athletes of all time, the Chicago Bulls' Michael Jordan gets
the big, big screen treatment in Michael Jordan to the Max, a wonderfully inspirational
Imax documentary that chronicles the fabled NBA great.
Truth
be told, this film doesn't exactly tell us anything that we don't already know
about Jordan, but it does use its big screen dynamics to full effect.
To
the Max traces Jordan's career from the beginning, to his short stint with major
league baseball (prompted by his father's untimely death) to his retirement following
an exhausting six game championship series with the Utah Jazz, in which (as you
may recall) the Bulls finally prevailed.
True
it was pretty hard to watch the game six sequence where Jordan stripped Karl Malone
of the ball and then made the game winning jumper--but I couldn't help admire
this true champion. And although I was forced to watch this tragic Jazz defeat
in the Imax format (which in itself is quite disheartening), it was quite exciting
and not nearly as painful as the first time around.
The
Imax format perfectly suits the dynamic and intense basketball footage. As for
Michael Jordan himself, he has been immortalized as not only one of the greatest
clutch players of the game, but one of the greatest players in sports, period!
But it was his off court grace and humanity that really sets him apart from many
other players. Michael Jordan to the Max isn't exactly the most insightful of
Imax presentations, but it certainly was passionate and exciting.
You
can catch this excellent film at the Jordan Commons multi-plex in Salt Lake City
or the Luxor in Las Vegas.
