"Space Jam: A New Legacy" doesn't really justify its existence to those who are old enough to remember the original "Space Jam" - which was released more than two decades ago. The film never tries to out do or even outpace the previous film in a very obvious manner. This is as standalone as it gets. For those who push their prejudices to the bench, "Space Jam: A New Legacy" will be good enough to spend a couple of silly and fun hours with your kids - just like what we did ourselves.
Ever since he was a young kid, LeBron's coach instilled in him to give it his all in and off the court. So much so that all he did was focus on basketball and became an NBA champion in the process. Even though he is a great player, he isn't as great of a dad. In particular, he has a tumultuous relationship with his son Dom (Cedric Joe) who wants to develop games instead of playing basketball. One day, Lebron (LeBron James) is invited to Warner Bros. headquarters with his son. Lebron refuses a partnership offer which gains the anger of Warner Bros.' A.I. program (Don Cheadle). The rogue A.I. traps LeBron and Dom due to this and offers a high stakes basketball game. Win and the A.I. will release LeBron and his son. Lose, LeBron and his son will be trapped in digital space forever.
"Space Jam: A New Legacy" wasn't bad but it wasn't good either. It was just okay. But the happiness that it brought our 3 year old kid was undeniable. He was none the wiser of what kind of film this was or how shallow and hollow it got. He was just happy seeing the Tunes Squad running amok the court. That's probably our biggest takeaway with the film. When it became too serious like how LeBron was too serious with his kid Dom (which was also most of its first half), the film was just bad. But when the film let out its more "Looney" side, things became a whole lot more entertaining and watchable. At the end of the day, as an adult, we hated how LeBron's acting was just cringe and he definitely couldn't act if his life depended on it, we loathed the inconsistencies in its visual effects, the story was silly in a non-creative way, and worse, there are endless product placements not only of LeBron's career but also of Warner Bros.' endless intellectual properties. It had a lot of bad sides but at least it did a whole lot of great things in its last half hour or so to really salvage the film.
Rating: 2 reels
Why you should watch it:
- it had a terrific last half hour or so
- the Looney Tunes in 3D was mesmerizing
Why you shouldn't watch it:
- the story was just silly
- LeBron just cannot act
- the endless product placements became a distraction
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