Space Jam: A New Legacy (2021) Warner Bros./Comedy-Sci-Fi-Adventure RT: 115 minutes Rated PG (some cartoon violence and some language) Director: Malcolm D. Lee Screenplay: Juel Taylor, Tony Rettenmaier, Keenan Coogler, Terence Nance, Jesse Gordon and Celeste Ballard Music: Kris Bowers Cinematography: Salvatore Totino Release date: July 16, 2021 (US) Cast: LeBron James, Don Cheadle, Khris Davis, Sonequa Martin-Green, Cedric Joe, Ceyair J. Wright, Harper Leigh Alexander, Ernie Johnson, Lil Rel Howery. Voices: Jeff Bergman, Eric Bauza, Zendaya, Bob Bergen, Fred Tatasciore, Gabriel Iglesias, Candi Milo, Klay Thompson, Anthony Davis, Damian Lillard, Diana Taurasi, Nneka Ogwumike. Box Office: $70.6M (US)/$163.7M (World)
Rating: **
Streaming movies at home has its advantages. Take Space Jam: A New Legacy, the sequel to the 1996 live-action/animated comedy sci-fi-adventure starring Michael Jordan and the Looney Tunes gang. I fell asleep on it at several points. Had I seen it at the movies, I would have had to sit through it a second time in order to write a fair review. It’s not only a matter of missing important plot points; it’s also about ethics. Watching it on HBO Max allowed me to rewind to the point where my eyes closed. I had to do it several times. Ultimately, I saw Space Jam: A New Legacy in its entirety. I think I would have been better off taking a long nap instead.
A recent rewatching of the original Space Jam helped me gain an appreciation for it. It’s hardly quality cinema, but it gets by on the pure, zany energy provided by the Looney Tunes characters. Space Jam: A New Legacy makes it look like Citizen Kane by comparison. The main problem is it tries too hard to outdo the original and ends up coming off as desperate to please. At nearly two hours, it’s exhausting to watch. Not all of it bad, but its good points are definitely outweighed by the bad.
For this entirely unnecessary sequel, L.A. Lakers star LeBron James is front and center as the latest star athlete to be sucked into Looney Tune World. Unfortunately, that doesn’t happen until about 30 minutes in. Until then, director Malcolm D. Lee (Girls Trip) takes us through the defining moment of young LeBron’s childhood and his rise to stardom in the NBA. Next, we see him at home with his family where it’s revealed he’s at odds with his 12YO son Dom (Cedric Joe) over the direction of his life. LeBron wants him to follow in his footsteps; the kid wants to create video games. Dad just doesn’t understand him, you know the drill.
The trouble really begins when LeBron goes to a pitch meeting at Warner Bros. studio where he rejects the idea of a virtual reality version of himself created to star in movies. He’s rather harsh in his dismissal of the proposal, something that raises the ire of Al-G Rhythm (Cheadle, aka War Machine from the MCU), the sentient computer algorithm that controls the entire Warner universe. He retaliates TRON-style by pulling them in VR and separating them. In a scenario that sounds vaguely familiar, he informs LeBron the only way out is to beat him in a basketball game. He then sends him to Tune World where he turns into a cartoon.
This is where Space Jam: A New Legacy really starts to go off the rails. Tune World is deserted save for Bugs Bunny. All of the others left at the behest of Al-G to explore other realities in the Warner universe- e.g. DC Comics, Harry Potter, Game of Thrones and Casablanca. LeBron and Bugs commandeer Marvin the Martian’s spaceship and fly off to gather everybody to play on LeBron’s team. Meanwhile, Al-G puts together the “Goon Squad” comprised of enhanced avatars of professional b-ball players originally created by Dom who’s been turned against his own father by the digital devil.
Let’s start with what works in Space Jam: A New Legacy. That would be the Looney Tune action which is spot-on as usual. It’s always great to see them in action. I was especially happy to see Speedy Gonzalez. It’s been a while since we heard from that little hombre. HOWEVER, I did NOT like the Tunes’ 3D incarnations, a change that occurs courtesy of Al-G. It doesn’t last too long, but it’s the wrong look for the characters regardless of duration. Let me be crystal clear. The Looney Tunes should only ever be seen in their traditional 2D-animated forms. Let’s hope it never happens again.
Aside from that hiccup, the zany, anarchic spirit of the beloved cartoon characters saves Space Jam: A New Legacy from total failure. Sadly, it’s still a failure. LeBron has screen presence, but an actor he’s not. His line readings are somewhat stiff. Plus, he doesn’t appear to be having as much fun as Michael Jordan did in the first movie. The father-son subplot, something that was missing from the first movie, is rather routine. We’ve seen it before and better. The main plot, a rip-off of TRON and Ready Player One, just sucks. It took six writers to come up with this? This is a perfect example of filmmaking by committee. None of the acting is all that great, but there is a funny cameo involving Michael Jordan. The mix of live-action and animation is pretty good, but not particularly remarkable.
I realize Space Jam: A New Legacy is aimed at kids and they’ll probably love it. Their parents, not so much. Other than seeing beloved figures from childhood again, there’s nothing to recommend about this boring, overlong, too busy sequel. Okay, maybe it’s fun to play Spot the Character in the stands during the climactic game, but it’s also indicative of what’s wrong with Space Jam: A New Legacy. It’s simply too much. After a while, it’s tiring. I’d even describe it as overload. I’m surprised the studio’s computers didn’t crash during post-production. Take my advice, watch it at home. That way you can do something else while the kids enjoy it.
