SPACE JAM: A NEW LEGACY Review
Nostalgia is a hell of a concept. It’s a memory that can simultaneously turn our viewing of past events into something more or less than what it actually was…usually being the former. At the very least, the concept of nostalgia can make for a good theme for a film to center around or, more specifically, for a film studio looking to get some easy eyes on their wide collection of products and franchises. So it goes with the long belated (and possibly awaited, depending on who you ask) sequel to the Michael Jordan/Nike vehicle, in LeBron James’ quest to take his dominance from the hardwood court to the silver screen. For all its updated sheen and modern sensibilities, SPACE JAM: A NEW LEGACY is ultimately something of unnecessary victory lap for a film studio. Something that today’s kids can appreciate, of course.
Let’s get one thing out of the way: the first SPACE JAM isn’t a good film. Call me too much of an optimist but for a film that combines the “2D animated world blending with the real world” schtick of the classic WHO FRAMED ROGER RABBIT? with the unprecedented god-celebrity status of Chicago Bulls player, Michael Jordan, the first SPACE JAM is a pretty flat affair with a pretty solid soundtrack. It’s a film that rests entirely off the audience’s goodwill towards the idea of seeing a superstar basketball player flatly interact with 1,000-year old cartoon characters. In other words, it’s an idea that could’ve been so much better than it was. Does the latter day sequel improve on its forbearer? Not at all. But, it also isn’t a terrible film (as much as the online social medias and SPACE JAM apologists would have you believe). If anything, it’s very similar to its predecessor in the fact that such an intriguing idea for a film can feel so safe and lifeless.
Indeed, the basic gist of the first SPACE JAM is transferred into its sequel with LeBron stepping into the shoes of Jordan, playing a fictional (and much less lovably lamer and goofier) version of himself. True, LeBron’s “LeBron” probably doesn’t need any personality because Warner Bros. doesn’t think the audience wants that or trusts them to already know the bearded basketball demigod. Nevertheless, the plot hinges on this “LeBron” struggling to connect with his son Dom (Cedric Joe), who’d rather make video games about basketball rather than actually pursue it. “LeBron”, being the guy known for playing basketball really good, doesn’t take to his youngest son’s idea and before you can say “Huh, this LeBron is a kind of an a-hole”, Dom is sucked up into the Warner Bros. studio server, abducted by the server’s rogue and belittled AI, AI G. Rhythm (a cracked out Don Cheadle, the only human beacon of energy here), who is determined to rule the world by kidnapping “LeBron’s” son in order to *checks note on crumbled napkin* “lure ‘LeBron’ into the Warner Bros ‘Server-verse’ and then proceed to steal ‘LeBron’s’ social media followers?”. And yup that’s the reason. Eventually, “LeBron”, after gliding past all of Warner’s other properties (HARRY POTTER! GAME OF THRONES! A CLOCKWORK ORANGE?, etc!) in a shiny, CGI assembly line show off sequence, finally meets the 2D kingpin himself, Bugs Bunny (Jeff Bergman), and from there A NEW LEGACY proceeds to do what the first film did best: waste a tantalizing team up.
But here’s another thing that should be plain to anyone curious about the SPACE JAMs of past and present: they’re ultimately a kids film made for kids, and there’s nothing more kids enjoy (or fall for) more than images on a screen that put cool people and images on screen and have them interact. Sure, A NEW LEGACY is essentially just a long ass Warner Bros. commercial but it never says it is anything but that: a kids film that sells the idea and imagery of LeBron James and The Looney Tunes. To his credit, director Malcom D. Lee (working with a literal stable of writers, six of them credited) crafts a competently made film here, making sure the camera and the people acting in front of it put their products front and center. Honestly, A NEW LEGACY is a slick looking hollow vessel with the 2D animation keeping the traditional shapes of the Looney Cast together and yet adding a modern crispness to it. However, once the Looney Cast is turned into CGI’d versions of themselves, it’s obvious the 3D team was told to give a little more love to these creations as their designs show off more detail while still retaining that cartoonish charm even as the rest of the CGI creations put onto screen result in nothing more than forgettable 3D avatars (try as Icy-Hot Klay Thompson does to make things look cool).
As one can tell, there’s a lot to rag on this movie about but even so, there are still some enjoyable moments to be had with this film (even if you’re an overly-serious young 20’s guy like me). Thanks to its objectively bonkers idea, A NEW LEGACY offers sequences that almost reach its potential towards a film that could be more than just a glorified kids commercial. Whether due to statistical probabilities or genuine talent, the six writers here concoct some humorous moments, mainly when it involves the fireworks dynamic of Looney Tunes characters interacting with worlds and other people different from their own or even in the film’s more oppressively commercialized moments of brand synergy: seriously, technology was made to display the moment where Looney Tunes characters crossover with the totally kid friendly IP of MAD MAX: FURY ROAD. Seriously, if you can’t find some enjoyment out of that cracked out image, you’re wound just a tad too tight.
And therein lies the whole of SPACE JAM: A NEW LEGACY. It’s a kids movie for kids. It’s a giant, overlong commercial. It’s also occasionally bonkers with some genuine comedic moments (nary a moment of emotional depth to be found though). However you want to look at this film, it’s hard to deny that this new entry doesn’t carry on the legacy of the first in the fact that it combines the visual of a superstar basketball player interacting with Foghorn Leghorn.
2.5/5
