Review: Space Jam: A New Legacy

 

How's going, guys? You ready to get looney? You ready to play ball in the jam? Awesome! Here's my review of the long-awaited sequel movie, Space Jam: A New Legacy! This time, the Looney Tunes characters team up with Superstar basketball player, Lebron James to play against a rogue A.I. called Al G. Rhythm played by Don Cheadle in CyberSpace rather than regular Space like its predecessor. 

It stars Lebron James, Cedric Joe, Sonequa Martin-Green, Don Cheadle, Khris Davis, Ceyair J. Wright and Harper Leigh Alexander, with Lil Rel Howery and Ernie Johnson, Jr. appearing as themselves as game announcers, Jeff Bergman as the voices of Bugs Bunny, Sylvester the Cat and Yosemite Sam, Eric Bauza as the voices of Daffy Duck, Foghorn Leghorn, Elmer Fudd, and Marvin the Martian, Zendaya as the voice of Lola Bunny, Bob Bergen as the voice of Tweety Bird, Candi Milo as the voice of Granny, Gabriel Iglesias as the voice of Speedy Gonzales, and NBA appearances of Anthony Davis, Damian Lillard, Klay Thompson, Nneka Ogwumike, and Diana Taurasi. Space Jam 2 is directed by Malcolm D. Lee and produced by Ryan Coogler and Lebron James.

Space Jam: A New Legacy was either in development or rumored for 20 years. But, it's finally here! While this is a stand-alone sequel, you probably don't have to watch the first movie to get acquainted with what will happen. 

As Lebron prepares his son, Dom to go to basketball camp, Dom would rather go to E3 camp than actually playing basketball. This goes with the message of being yourself when you want to achieve your lifelong goal, this also helps the Tunes and Lebron win against the new Goon Squad. Being looney over fundamentals works in a sense. The movie also shows off every WB IP in blink-and-you'll miss it moments. There was Harry Potter world, Matrix world, DC World and Thrones world. I still think Warner Bros. is terrible because of the whole thing with Ray Fisher, Amber Heard and Johnny Depp. 

If you're expecting actual character growth from the Looney Tunes, look elsewhere, bud. But if you're watching this for another game of basketball, you're in luck. Because the basketball action is pretty awesome and Don Cheadle can actually be a great villain. Lebron gives better acting chops than what Michael Jordan did. Speaking of Michael Jordan, that Michael B. Jordan cameo was funny as hell! The Rick and Morty cameo was pretty cool too.

There's no denying that "New Legacy" is visually impressive by combining modern cartoon animation, comic book style animation, live action and Old Hollywood film aesthetics. I can even compare this to Ready Player One and Ralph Breaks the Internet. Even the CGI of the video game designs of the central basketball match are impressive, even Bugs looked CLEAN in live-action. The background live-action characters just seemed off and creepy, it would have been better just to digitally put actual movie characters rather than unsettling Halloween costume versions of Pennywise, the White Walkers and the Droogs. 

With all the spectacle, the Looney Tuners feel sidelined in favor of other cameos of the Warner Bros. and DC brand. As adult animation, Anime, Disney and Pixar become more popular, this feels like a passing of the torch rather than an actual movie with just Bugs Bunny and the gang and a popular NBA athlete. 

I thought the modern update was cool for awhile with a great but uneven performance from Lebron James. Its story and characters navigate different worlds in a digital cyberspace known as the Serververse(I almost said Snyder-Verse) with the different WB franchise being used as visual gags with the classic Tune characters being put on the bench in what could've been an actual Space Jam sequel. However, its central bond of father and son has a message of being true to yourself in the pursuit of passion, which is the highlight of the movie. 

I'll give Space Jam: A New Legacy a 7/10

I thought this was a great visual feast and again, the basketball scenes are great, but that comes at the expense of nostalgia with Warner Bros.' well-known cartoon characters.

Thanks for reading, and don't forget to comment below your thoughts. Did you like this movie? Let me know.