Just when it finally became available on Amazon Prime, a revival screening got greenlit too. Its popularity shows no sign of fading.
Since all information was kept completely under wraps online until release, I keep wondering how much I'm allowed to say. But I'll assume that anyone deliberately reading this has already seen it, so this time I'm going full-on spoilers.
This movie centers on the showdown against the strongest team, Sannoh Kogyo, which corresponds to the final battle of the original SLAM DUNK manga.
The special one-shot "Pierce" fits in beautifully here, with Shohoku High's shortest player (and I mean that as a compliment), Ryota Miyagi, portrayed as the protagonist.
At the start of the film, it spends a while delving into Ryota's past. The story is so heavy you almost feel your heart starting to ache, wondering how he could have carried a past like that.
And yet, not a single person at Shohoku High dwells on Ryota's past.
Maybe he's just not the type to talk about it, or maybe not, I don't know, but nobody seems the least bit concerned. Everyone bickers, but they all get along.
(Though Akagi did say, "We're not friends. If anything, I hate them.")
But once the game starts, Shohoku falls behind by a huge margin and is suddenly backed into a corner.
The score for this film is handled by two main parties: Satoshi Takebe and TAKUMA of 10-FEET.
Satoshi Takebe has worked on dramas, films, and anime, but he's more known for arranging songs. Among his most famous work is the arrangement for KinKi Kids' "Zenbu Dakishimete." As a film composer, his credits include the TV drama "Saiyuki" starring Shingo Katori and "From Up on Poppy Hill."
10-FEET debuted in 2001, and it took quite a while for them to bloom, but with their work on this film's theme song, they've surely become a rock band everyone knows. Incidentally, the name 10-FEET also refers to the height of a basketball hoop, roughly 3 meters, carrying the meaning of a distance that "feels within reach but isn't" even when you jump (10 feet = about 3 meters).
Now, let's take a look at the music.
This time the roles are split beautifully: Satoshi Takebe handles the quiet parts, while TAKUMA of 10-FEET takes the high-speed, adrenaline-fueled scenes during the game.
First, the OP. As the members of Shohoku are drawn in pencil and brought to life, the opening track "LOVE ROCKETS (Movie Ver.)" plays.
This is just plain cool. Our protagonist Ryota Miyagi, the three-point sniper Hisashi Mitsui, "Gori" Takenori Akagi, and the cheeky super rookie Kaede Rukawa.
And the last to appear is, of course, the troublemaker, Hanamichi Sakuragi.
Then the Sannoh players descend...
Be sure to catch that cool OP scene at the theater or on Amazon Prime!
Next up is "Say My Name." This one is arranged by Takebe, playing as the players are utterly exhausted, with even their opponents writing them off as past their limit. There's no direct depiction of it, but Mitsui was a former delinquent who smoked and the like, so he has very little stamina. And yet, from somewhere that fighting spirit wells up, and once he gets the ball, he's a powerhouse who will sink the three-pointer without fail. A flashback to his past with Miyagi plays too, and it's a scene that brings a tear to the eye for anyone who knows the original.
And finally, this movie has a moment of silence. To be precise it's not truly silent, but there's a thrilling 30-second final stretch, recreated from the original manga, where every line of dialogue is cut, and it isn't included on this soundtrack. In that moment, there's only something close to a sound effect playing as BGM, and even the sound seems to vanish somewhere, drawing you completely into the scene.
I've watched countless movies, but this was my first time seeing a film deliver a scene with no sound and no dialogue.
Let's part ways while watching the trailer for this film.
Quoted from the official site https://x.com/movie_slamdunk
