The Zack Snyder Movie No One Even Remembers Is His Most Important
Great filmmakers often come from humble beginnings, and Zack Snyder is no exception to the rule. But even his earliest efforts highlight his potential and keen eye for telling a story before he ever had financial backing from a big studio. His first movie, Playground, which is a short fictional documentary about Michael Jordan, is a perfect example of his raw talent and directorial instinct long before we witnessed his feature film debut in 2004 with Dawn of the Dead.
What’s most fascinating about this Zack Snyder movie is how his vision would eventually be fully realized in films like 300, Watchmen, and Man of Steel.
Most well known these days for his contribution to the DCEU in the form of the Synderverse, Zack Snyder has always had a knack for elevating already extraordinary characters into mythological status. 1990’s Playground, which was released ahead of Michael Jordan’s own ascension into basketball superstardom, is jam-packed with the same kind of lore building that you’d see in a superhero movie.
Using archival footage of Michael Jordan, Zack Snyder tells a story of a high school student named Walt who was cut from his team. Though Walt is the primary protagonist in Playground, it’s his encounter with Michael Jordan that drives the story. Though Walt is discouraged because of his perceived shortcomings, he gets a vote of confidence from Jordan, who teaches him a number of valuable lessons on the supernatural basketball court.
But what’s most fascinating about this Zack Snyder movie is how his vision would eventually be fully realized in films like 300, Watchmen, and Man of Steel. Though we’re talking about a low-budget film, Playground proves to viewers that Snyder was simply biding his time as he waited for more substantial studio backing for future projects.
In other words, his signature style, which expertly utilizes techniques like slow-motion sequences and multi-angle shots, was already apparent despite his limitations.
Using archival footage of Michael Jordan, Zack Snyder tells a story of a high school student named Walt who was cut from his team.
It wasn’t until 2004 that Zack Snyder was able to truly show us what he was capable of when he remade George A. Romero’s Dawn of the Dead. Though remaking such an iconic horror classic is no easy feat, Synder’s instinct brought us a modern classic that is not only considered a worthy recreation of the original, but also single-handedly reinvigorated the zombie genre for a new generation.
Though Playground is a long-forgotten direct-to-video documentary, it’s a testament to the creative vision that would eventually dominate the box office during the early aughts, and well into the 2020s. Using Michael Jordan’s legacy as a proof of concept, Snyder would play a significant role in establishing the tried-and-true concept of superhero origin stories that would be so prevalent in the DCEU.
Playground, which was released ahead of Michael Jordan’s own ascension into basketball superstardom, is jam-packed with the same kind of lore-building that you’d see in a superhero movie.
These days, Zack Snyder is breaking away from the superhero flicks that he’s most well known for, and taking a crack at science-fiction. His most recent effort, Rebel Moon, falls into space opera territory not unlike Star Wars, but boasts his signature style that he established nearly 34 years ago. Presently, Snyder is working on a sequel for the Netflix film, which is scheduled for an April 19, 2024 release.
Rebel Moon may be new territory for Zack Snyder, but his innovative instinct, which was originally captured in 1990, is still a force to be reckoned with.
