Summary
An insightful look into how the American basketball team felt like failures after winning only a bronze medal at the 2004 Olympic games. What followed was an incredible journey that led to them being known as the Redeem Team. The Redeem Team highlights the shocking criticism the players got, and it’s mindblowing how mad people were at the players.
Netflix documentary film The Redeem Team was released on October 7, 2022.
As the title would suggest, the Netflix documentary film focuses on the redeem team. Following a disappointing turn at the 2004 Summer Olympics, which saw all of the major basketball players withdraw from the games and led to a terrible result, America was very much embarrassed. As a result, they had a lot to prove when it came to the 2008 Olympics. However, was it really that bad? They still came away with a bronze medal, so it wasn’t the worst result in the world. Regardless, everyone loves a comeback kid, and that’s exactly what the American Basketball Team was in 2008.
The team, as you may be aware, included Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, and Michael Reed. As the documentary film tells us, as the 2004 Olympics were the first games since 9/11 and the Iraq War, morale was quite low. And the disappointing performance only made that feeling even worse.
Jump to 2008, and that’s all changed, and the Olympic team has successfully redeemed itself. Above all, and what I think a lot of people will say after watching the documentary film, is that it’s a fitting tribute to Kobe. While the backlash to Kobe and his other team players in 2004 was harsh and, to be honest, very unreasonable, he battled through it and soon gained the respect he deserved.
At times, The Redeem Team is very frustrating. Not because of the film itself. But mainly because it’s so ridiculous that they received so much backlash for the 2004 games. Aside from that, it’s a good insight into the Olympics games and what the players had to endure before the 2008 games.
What did you think of the Netflix documentary film The Redeem Team? Comment below.
