Dennis Rodman was an NBA legend – that does not translate to a brilliant on-screen career.
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Dennis Rodman is known in the NBA circuit as the guy who made rebounding a science – but to the movie buffs, he’s known as the flamboyant arms dealer Yaz from Double Team. In the middle of a 3-peat run, The Worm was living his best life, shooting full-fledged action movies with Yester year hero Jean-Claude Van Damme.
Not to sound like Wikipedia, but here is the gist. Jean-Claude is an anti-terrorist agent who after making the biggest bust of his life retires to live a peaceful life with his wife. Tragedy strikes, when his arch-nemesis resurfaces soon after the retirement, forcing him to come back and stop him once and for all.
Dennis Rodman is the master arms dealer (although making a black guy in charge of weaponry is a bit sus) who accompanies Van Damme in a heroic chase to protect world peace. While to a normal moviegoer, the movie was a passable attempt, the critics took it apart. Not many movies get rated in the 11% mark on Rotten Tomatoes, but Double team did.
While JC was a good hero back in the 80s, he started making corny movies towards the end of his peak. Otherwise, how do you justify the same actor from Bloodsport also being a part of a movie that won 5 Razzies?
Dennis Rodman and LeBron James are two of the biggest names to transition to the Movie space – too bad they had no acting chops
Great Basketball players don’t mean great everything else. But Shaquille O’Neal is an exception. That man completed life and is enjoying side quests at this point. Rodman was doing side quests too but did not forget the main mission. How he managed to put in 21 entries on IMDb and 20 years of NBA while winning 5 championships is a mystery.
LeBron James tried to emulate his idol in more than one way – he wore his number and starred in his iconic movie remake. While you could say he did justice to the number, the movie, is not even close. The original Space Jam was a cheesy yet iconic movie that made lasting impressions on children. Space Jam 2, people even forgot it came out a year ago.
Rodman and Van Damme were not the pairings like The Worm and his Airness were. It did not work, plain and simple. The movie was forced, corny, and overall a montage of pre-Michael Bay action movies. the most memorable part of that movie? The tennis ball haircut that Rodman rocked and the tin foil vest he wore for a shirt.
What exactly makes players look for opportunities in Hollywood?
A lot of players look forward to dipping their toes in the acting pool. While movies like “Hustle” turn out great because they inherently are the same thing they do daily, movies like Double Team make no sense. Dennis Rodman did not care much about what people thought, so he did things the way he saw fit.
The others just see it as a marketing tool and to stay relevant after their playing careers are over. After living lives of always being in the spotlight, sudden tranquility does not bode well for their image. They need to be swathed in people’s minds, to keep the revenue flowing.
Business ventures may be their main source of income after retirement, but movies guarantee Clout. This is why Shaquille O’Neal is a superhero called Steel and Dennis Rodman Yaz.
