Zack Snyder’s Very First Movie Was This Strange Film About Michael Jordan

The big picture

• Zack Snyder's first directorial work was the short film
  Michael Jordan's playground
  showing his unique style and love for slow motion.
• The film highlights Michael Jordan's competitive mindset and his early NBA career, emphasizing his desire to win and his dedication to improvement.
• Both Michael Jordan and Zack Snyder defined eras in pop culture, with Jordan's dominance of basketball and Snyder's impact on the superhero movie genre.

One of the most stylistically recognizable directors in the business, Zack Snyder's the films vibrantly illustrate his unique vision. Although many are strikingly different from each other (Dawn of the Dead might be the furthest comparison Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole)the vast majority of his filmography demonstrates his characteristic style: dramatic special effects, a remarkable adoration for slow motion and grandiose explorations into the lives of heroic figures. His historically inspired action epic 300 brought the mythical figure of King Leonidas (Gerard Butler) on the big screen with memorable and bombastic action sequences, while his work in the DCEU brought the legendary Justice League to live action after decades of defining the superhero genre. While these films and franchises are completely different, they all serve as exceptional examples of Snyder's directorial vision. But while he's best remembered for those blockbusters, Snyder had already been crafting his iconic style from the moment he first sat in the director's chair. Even the most avid fan might not know it, but Snyder's first outing as a director was for a documentary short about another mythical figure who, as The man of steel all these years later, he captivated people by proving that one man could fly: Airness himself, the greatest basketball player of all time, Michael Jordan.

'Michael Jordan's Playground' was Zack Snyder's first film as a director

A direct-to-video short film that is equal parts sports documentation and motivational story, Children's park (also known as Michael Jordan's playground) was an unconventional, but highly entertaining, start to Snyder's directorial career. Although essentially a Michael Jordan documentary, the film was framed around the story of a high school basketball player named Walt (Tyrin Turner) who was cut from his college team. But despite his arduous preparation in the year following that rejection, Walt finds himself doubting his own abilities, unsure if he even has a chance of making the team at their next tryout. But it is in this pessimistic moment that something incredible happens: Michael Jordan inexplicably arrives on the court, like a basketball geniusto share powerful motivation and advice for the young athlete and spectators everywhere.

'Playground' highlights Jordan's competitive mindset and successful career

while Children's park Technically about Walt's high school team tryouts, the overall framework of the short film ultimately focuses on Michael Jordan and his early NBA career. Although basketball fans today look at Michael Jordan's career with awe and reverence, considering him the greatest of all time, this short film is not the last dance. Don't look back on MJ's illustrious career with the benefit of hindsight, but look at Jordan as he was still somewhat of an underdog, although not fully proven. Children's park was released in 1990, a full year before MJ won his first championship ring, and while his career thus far had been highly successful, Jordan's inability to reach the pinnacle of NBA success was a crushing weight on his shoulders. MJ had a splendid athletic resume so far in his career, with an MVP, multiple scoring titles and a Defensive Player of the Year award, but without that championship ring, it was impossible to truly consider him among the top tier of NBA players. history, no matter how great an individual athlete was.

But while Jordan didn't have the championship hardware that would be the focus of his post-career docuseries, the last dance, Children's park is certainly more impressive for how it expresses so much belief in the Bulls player and his inescapable desire to win at the highest level.How Polygon describes it correctly, Children's park it was a “called-shot,” a surefire declaration of success before seeing the bucket roll over the net. Or, in this case, before Jordan brought the Larry O'Brien Trophy back to Chicago and established himself as the greatest of all time. Jordan talks to Walt about his own mindset when it comes to competition, talking about how he worked tirelessly to improve his game and become a better player because of his singular desire to win. It is that relentless competitiveness and dedication that Jordan tries to instill in the young player, and it is these traits that would be confirmed by the enormous success he would soon achieve in his own playing career.

'Michael Jordan's Playground' is complete 90s nostalgia

Children's park may not have the longest runtime, however the film oozes with classic '90s nostalgia and the nascent beginnings of Snyder's favorite directorial habits, making it an exciting watch for both basketball and movie fans alike. While the motivational story is essentially paint-by-numbers, the basketball highlights and commentary from other NBA players make it a totally unique viewing experience. Jordan's advice to Walt is interspersed with dynamic clips of his highlights, divided into different aspects of his playing career, such as his relentless ability to win tight games and his burning desire to demonstrate his defensive prowess when naysayers doubted his ability.

It's hard to encapsulate all of this Michael Jordan's playground it's because there's nothing else like it. Interspersed with Jordan's own narrative are interview moments from other notable NBA players who competed with him, including Magic Johnson, Isias Thomasi Clyde Drexler. While they all give MJ much deserved praise, it's interesting to look back at a time when Jordan wasn't yet crowned the GOAT. Players talk about Jordan's matchups Dominique Wilkins, a more comparable rival at the time, though a six-ring difference has since transformed the narrative. And in 1990, Jordan's underdog journey to the top was still protected by the Detroit Pistons, an infamous team so notorious for their defense that they were dubbed the “Bad Boys” (and would later receive a 30 for 30 own documentary). Yes Children's park Not quite quintessentially 90s enough for me, the film was punctuated with a dance sequence fully choreographed by the Full Force All-Stars and Jordan himself for some last bits of jovial entertainment.

And while Snyder had yet to fully define his distinct creative style, Children's park showed some of the traits that would define Snyder's taste. While Jordan's play on the court was certainly not subject to Snyder's direction, his highlight reel speaks for itself as MJ was one of the most dynamic and exciting players to ever touch a basketball. From his acrobatic dunks, devilish defense and mind-blowing dunks, Michael Jordan truly looked like a man who could fly, with the inexplicable ability to stay in the air longer than all of his competitors. ​​​​​​​​​​But this is where Snyder's eye for action shows, as his direction of court sequences and staging of basketball highlights serve to maximize the excitement and 'action of Jordan's talents, in slow motion even in his simple one-on-one game with Walt.

Zack Snyder and Michael Jordan went on to define eras in pop culture

While Snyder's career took a little longer to really reach its top zenith (he wouldn't direct his first feature until 2004), Michael Jordan's ascent to Everest happened quickly after playground release His Airness would go on to win all six championships for the Chicago Bulls, with two impressive three-peats from 1991-1993 and 1996-1998. And in between those championships, Jordan returned to Hollywood to film one of the greatest sports movies of all time: Cosmic traffic jam. No athlete before or since dominated the pop culture sphere as much as Michael Jordan in the 1990s.an era that he defined both on and off the court.

While rankings of athletes in sports are ultimately subjective, rankings of film directors are even more indefinite. However, even though Zack Snyder can't aim for championship trophies, he too would be a definite player in the entertainment industry with his extensive work in the superhero genre. From watchmen in 2009 through his work in the DCEU, Snyder can be a divisive director, however Few could argue that he wasn't memorable and integral to making superhero movies as ubiquitous as they are today. While Jordan rests on the laurels of his storied career and Snyder continues his creative endeavors with the recent release of Rebel Moon – Part Two: The Scargiverit's inspiring to think that in the years before their career-defining hits, the two were working tirelessly and taking their chances on a basketball hoop in the backyard.

Michael Jordan's playground is available to rent or buy on Prime Video in the US

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