Shaq is a four-part biographical documentary series that encircles the life journey of the former NBA’s most valued player Shaquille O’Neal. The docuseries is based on his personal life and his professional basketball career, and is directed by Robert Alexander and produced by Peter Berg. Moreover, the average runtime of each episode is one hour.
The docuseries stars the basketball great, along with family members and former coaches. This includes his siblings Jamal and Lateefah Harrison, along with his mother Lucille O’Neal. Furthermore, Brandon Riley serves as the series cinematographer, while Roahn Hylton and Jacob Yoffee have given the music for the project.
-Shaq Episode 1 Review Does Not Contain Spoilers-
The first episode of the docuseries starts with the journey of Shaquille O’Neal transforming into the basketball phenomenon Shaq. It all starts with a slight introduction about the upbringing and childhood of the young Orlando Magic, which included a disciplinary father from the army, a confident boosting mother, and two protective and always united siblings.
Basically, we are given a contextual heads-up about the narrative style of the documentary by the man himself. Who makes it absolutely clear that the project will resemble the fun and quirky mannerisms of the gentle giant. And definitely carry the spice of a well-told Shaquille story.
The project achieves this through some funky soundtrack, along with visual edits, depicting the thought process of the speakers. Moreover, whenever it feels like the story needs a shift, Shaquille Rashaun O’Neal pulls a lever and rotates the magic of timelapse (unarguably, the coolest way to tell your own story).
The episode also delves into the emergence of his Basketball career and highlights the importance of hard work and consistency in his hyper-successful NBA record. Moreover, we also get to see some never heard funny instances of his childhood.
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I have heard so many Shaquille O’Neal stories during his incredible Late Night Talk Shows, that I almost doubted if the docuseries will have something new to add. However, the entire project is filled with meticulous references and is also a kind of deep dive, that unearths the sports icon right from the scratch.
There is a scene in the documentary where Shaquille was constantly fouled by the opposition player, during one of his sophomore games. That is when a fight breaks out, and his coach Dale Brown jumps right into the scene to back his players. I believe this topmost coach and player relationship moment is going to stay with me for a long time.
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Shaq Final Thoughts
The docuseries starts off on a highly entertaining note and also provides a personal context to the Shaquille O’Neal story. Moreover, if you are a fan of some spicy Shaq Tales, told in an absolutely honest manner, then you are definitely in for a treat. Notably, each episode of the series will arrive on subsequent Wednesday.
You can stream the episode on HBO Max. Let us know your thoughts about the sports doucumentary it in the comment section below.
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