'Michael Jordan to the Max': He shoots, he always scores

May 30, 2000
Web posted at: 2:41 p.m. EDT (1841 GMT)

In this story: 5 stories of His Airness A lesson amid the heroics RELATED STORIES, SITES

By Reviewer Paul Tatara

(CNN) -- The next time you're walking past a schoolyard where a bunch of kids are playing basketball, take note of how often one of them throws a no-look pass that sails over the intended target's head and bounces off of a chain-link fence. That in itself should give you some idea of the effect that Michael Jordan has had on the sport of basketball.

On the court, Jordan was either a genius or a magician, depending on your personal level of romance. But the new Imax feature, "Michael Jordan to the Max," makes it clear that his dazzling technique didn't come to him in a dream. Like most so-called geniuses, Jordan was blessed with enormous natural ability, then worked his fanny off. And he became the greatest basketball player that anyone had ever seen.

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However, directors Jim Stern and Don Kempf, and writer Jonathan Hock, take their praise to the point of pagan idolatry. Given the tone of the movie, you'd think that Jordan wasn't God, but put in long hours of intense concentration and physical labor to become Him.

That's to be expected, though. Imax films are supposed to overwhelm you with a five-story image. The storyline, even more so than in numbskull action features, is of negligible concern. To say the least, it would have been counterproductive to show Jordan kicking a dog or spitting in Dennis Rodman's Gatorade.

"Michael Jordan to the Max" was designed to give you the feeling that you're actually on the court with His Royal Airness. And that's exactly what it does.

What people want is ridiculously overachieving slam dunks, or down-to-the-wire three-point heroics. Jordan supplied them repeatedly during his remarkable career, and -- even though it mostly focuses on his final season -- "Michael Jordan to the Max" is a fair sampling of the highlights.

Talking heads such as Bob Costas and Phil Jackson philosophize as to why Michael turned out to be Michael when the rest of us turned out to be the rest of us. But they're not particularly insightful. Even when Jordan mentions Jackson's famous Zen approach to coaching, there's little explanation. It's just assumed that all the 12-year-olds in the audience have an innate understanding of Buddhist teachings.

Even so, your kids should get a lot out of it. Jordan is an intelligent, thoughtful man, and there's a lot of focus on his careful relationship with his youngest supporters. It's easy to see that his trepidation over looking ungrateful or angry about anything in his crazed public life is aimed at the kids who want to "be like Mike."

There's a heart-warming sequence in which he plays basketball with a bunch of 10- to 12-year-olds at a camp that he sponsors, and it's great to think that his young teammates will have a thrilling story to tell for the rest of their lives.

Jordan at his best encourages children to strive as hard as they can toward their goal. It's up to their parents to make it clear that the goal doesn't necessarily have to be suspended 10 feet above a hardwood floor.

The real question here is whether Jordan is a fitting subject for the Imax format. Previous features have focused on such larger-than-life events as climbing Mount Everest or chasing deep-sea creatures. The game sequences in "Michael Jordan to the Max" are flat-out stunning. But quite a bit of the movie consists of mundane documentary moves that would play a lot better on your TV screen than on the side of a skyscraper.

So it's a split decision that will probably leave most people satisfied. You might not be able to be like Mike, but it's very easy to simply like him.

"Michael Jordan to the Max" is absolutely suitable for all ages. Not rated. 45 minutes.

Michael Jordan 'to the MAX' in new IMAX film
May 5, 2000

Official 'Michael Jordan to the MAX' site
National Basketball Association
MVP
IMAX

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