by James Hanton

Takehiko Inoue’s long-running manga Slam Dunk has already been adapted for television in the 1990s. Now, Inoue himself has brought his story to the big screen. Playing out almost in real-time, interspersed with flashbacks and memories belonging to all five players of Shohoku high school’s basketball team, The First Slam Dunk uses breathtaking, blended animation to bring basketball to life like no other film has previously. 

Inoue is able to move the ‘camera’ through the frame with diverging height, speed, focus and editing without it feeling overboard. The result is that basketball feels more alive than ever, in a dizzying display of detail and physicality brought to life by astoundingly naturalised, kinetic movement. Bringing 3D and 2D together, albeit in a far more subtle and almost invisible way than other films of late, Inoue can transport you into the thick of the action as if you are scrambling on the court itself. Monologues and some well-timed humour bring out a human side to the action, ensuring that the players on the court are as much the soul of the movie as the sport itself. 

While the short-tempered and relentless Ryota (Shugo Nakamura) is the main focus and gets the most time dedicated to him, it can be easy to wish for the same attention to be spent on his teammates. They get much less in the way of depth and detail by comparison. You barely have time to think this through however, such is the dynamic and thrilling pace of the film. A roaring triumph of adaptation, The First Slam Dunk will not disappoint Inoue’s legions of fans.

THE FIRST SLAM DUNK will be released in UK cinemas on August 30th, 2023