This Space Jam: A New Legacy review does not contain any SPOILERS .
For those of us who are in the 90s, it would be impossible if we didn’t know the movie Space Jam (1996). Yes, this hybrid live-action and 2-D animation film was a real hit in its time,
The film is actually a very standard story. Specifically, about the legendary animation group, Looney Tunes , fronted by Bugs Bunny who was colonized by an alien group called the Nerdlucks.
This group colonized Bugs cs to make them an amusement park attraction by force. But because I don’t want to. Looney Tunes with the great basketball star of his day, Michael Jordan, challenged them to a game of basketball.
In the end Jordan and the Tunes won, and the Looney Tunes remained free in their world. In addition, Jordan’s acting in this film, is also very far from being amazing, especially the Oscar class.
But still Space Jam at that time was a hit. Apart from being an enjoyable story , the Lonney Tunes animation group is presented very well. I mean, it’s like we watched Looney Tunes animated series in general first.
And not to be missed, of course, because of the timeless soundtrack , ‘I Believe I Can Fly’ by R. Kelly.
Now with the cool legacy that the film left behind, many of us were surprised to find out that there was a sequel as well as a soft reboot . Of course, many of us are worried that this sequel is not as cool as the original film.
But at the same time, we still give hope/opportunity. Who knows, Space Jam: A New Legacy will be as good as the original film. Moreover, than Michael Jordan, the top basketball star of this era, LeBron James, is much better at acting.
Then is it true? Come on, just take a look at the following Spce Jam: A New Legacy review .
Plot Sophisticated And Super Contemporary
Basically, in terms of plot, Space Jam: A New Legacy is just as standard as the plot of the first film. But what makes this sequel different are the modern and contemporary elements.
This can be seen in the plot where Dom James (Cedric Joe), who is LeBron’s youngest child, dreams of becoming a video game developer . And he himself has made his basketball-themed game.
But unfortunately LeBron does not seem to support Dom’s ideals. Instead, he wants Dom to be like his older brother, Darius James (Ceyair J. Wright), who has aspirations and wants to continue his father’s career as a basketball player.
Now the gap between the father and the youngest is getting sharper when they get an invitation to Warner Bros. to have a meeting with all WB executives. This meeting aims to provide an acting career potential and other profitable endorsements to LeBron.
So in the meeting , LeBron and Dom got into an argument. This argument got Dom out of the meeting room . So when in the elevator , suddenly the elevator took Dom to the internet server room . And it turns out that what makes all of this happen is a computer algorithm, AI-G (Don Cheadle).
In short, after being brought to the server room , AI-G trapped and locked Dom. Lebron who finally also entered his server room was determined to save his son.
In the End Playing Basketball
Yes, it’s just a sequel, so in the end, to save Dom, LeBron must win a basketball match with AI-G’s Goon Squad basketball team . And also like the first film, in order to win, LeBron had to play basketball together with Bugs Bunny cs.
And for this aspect of playing/matching basketball, such as the explanation of the plot, it is also displayed in a modern and contemporary way. Specifically, all of them appear in hybrid live-action and CGI 2.5 dimensions which are certainly much more refined and sophisticated.
However, with all this sophistication and modernity, can Space Jam: A New Legacy be cooler than the first film?
Warner Bros. IP Force and Parade
Unfortunately, as we read in the title Review of Space Jam: A New: Legacy above, despite the modern and contemporary elements, this sequel doesn’t really need to exist. Honestly, A New Legacy is very forced existence.
It really looks and feels that Space Jam: A New Legacy is made for cash grab / milking money only. Even if this film doesn’t exist, it doesn’t matter. And speaking of making money, once again, this is very evident throughout the film.
WOW guys ! From beginning to end, we never stop witnessing references and clear appearances of product brands . Also apart from that, we are also overwhelmed by the appearance of various entertainment references whose intellectual property rights (IP) are owned by Warner Bros.
Game of Thrones, Mortal Kombat, All DC superheroes , The Wizard of Oz, Harry Potter and more. This as a result, makes us as an audience who focus on following the story, become quite disturbed.
But luckily if I’m personally, I can still follow the story. But still, the parade of IPs and sponsors is super duper annoying .
LeBron’s and Looney Tunes’ acting is still ridiculous
Fortunately, all these disturbing aspects that have been mentioned in this review of Space Jam: A New Legacy , can still be saved with LeBron’s acting which is quite okay. Even if I personally think, the acting of this Los Angeles Lakers NBA team player, is much better than Jordan used to be.
But no wonder either. Because long before becoming the main character in this film, LeBron has appeared in several film productions. Of which, one of the films, is the rom-com drama, Trainwreck (2015).
If the 36-year-old basketball player later decides to have a career as a film star, I can say, he has great potential for success. LeBron’s appearance was successfully matched by the appearance of all his Looney Tunes characters.
Bugs Bunny (Jeff Bergman) cs still looks as ridiculous as the first film. Although yes, personally, I still prefer the silliness of the first film. But overall, they’re all still ridiculous and entertaining.
As for the new Goon Squad group , unfortunately they are not as silly and memorable as the ones in the original film. I’m confused too. Why do you have to use Goon Squad again, when you know it won’t be as cool as the original?
I think this film can take an alternative where AI-G creates virtual, current NBA basketball players (in the form of human animation, not monsters or strange creatures).
Precisely with this idea, this will make Space Jam: A New Legacy look much different and fresh from the first film. Oh yeah, speaking of AI-G. Let’s just say that Cheadle has tried his best for this super generic film script.
Better to just watch the original movie
So based on all the aspects that we have read. So we can conclude from this review of Space Jam: A New Legacy , that this sequel is really forced and is only to find additional “snack money” for WB.