Space Jam: A New Legacy
Year: 2021
Director: Malcolm D. Lee
Starring: Jeff Bergman, Eric Bauza, Don Cheadle, LeBron James, Cedric Joe & Zendaya
Runtime: 115 mins
BBFC: U
Published: 21/07/21
Director: Malcolm D. Lee
Starring: Jeff Bergman, Eric Bauza, Don Cheadle, LeBron James, Cedric Joe & Zendaya
Runtime: 115 mins
BBFC: U
Published: 21/07/21
You know what I hate? When films are used as an advert for something. I don’t mean product placement like Transformers aggressive use of Mountain Dew & Bud Light (as annoying as that is), but I mean when the film simply exists to sell you something. Kids films are the worst for it, and it’s understandable because ninety-nine percent of them are made for the purpose of shifting merchandise, but usually the filmmakers have enough integrity to mask that behind a half decent story or some funny characters. Space Jam: A New Legacy meanwhile is nothing but an advert for HBO Max, and literally any other Warner Bros. property that it constantly shoves in your face, and the problem is that they are all vastly better and have more reason to exist than the film you’re watching.
NBA superstar LeBron James wants his kids Darius (Ceyair J. Wright) and Dom (Cedric Joe) to follow in his footsteps of being a world class athlete. Whilst Darius shows all the qualities LeBron is looking for in his sons, Dom is instead much more interested in creating videogames. LeBron doesn’t understand this and consistently pushes his son away as he forces the sport onto him.
The James family are invited to WB Studios to discuss a movie deal, curated by a state-of-the-art A.I, Al-G-Rhythm (Don Cheadle). LeBron dismisses the deal, but Dom is interested in the A.I and is given the opportunity to get a closer look at how it works. Scorned by LeBron turning down his ideas, Al-G digitises LeBron and Dom and uploads them to the ‘Seververse’, a cloud system where all WB properties are stored.
Al-G intends on keeping them there permanently, but LeBron suggests playing a game of basketball for his and his son’s lives. Taking advantage of this, Al-G befriends Dom and turns him against his father, using the boy’s coding prowess to create an unbeatable team. LeBron meanwhile must search the Serververse for his squad, but they’re a little loonier than expected.
NBA superstar LeBron James wants his kids Darius (Ceyair J. Wright) and Dom (Cedric Joe) to follow in his footsteps of being a world class athlete. Whilst Darius shows all the qualities LeBron is looking for in his sons, Dom is instead much more interested in creating videogames. LeBron doesn’t understand this and consistently pushes his son away as he forces the sport onto him.
The James family are invited to WB Studios to discuss a movie deal, curated by a state-of-the-art A.I, Al-G-Rhythm (Don Cheadle). LeBron dismisses the deal, but Dom is interested in the A.I and is given the opportunity to get a closer look at how it works. Scorned by LeBron turning down his ideas, Al-G digitises LeBron and Dom and uploads them to the ‘Seververse’, a cloud system where all WB properties are stored.
Al-G intends on keeping them there permanently, but LeBron suggests playing a game of basketball for his and his son’s lives. Taking advantage of this, Al-G befriends Dom and turns him against his father, using the boy’s coding prowess to create an unbeatable team. LeBron meanwhile must search the Serververse for his squad, but they’re a little loonier than expected.
The first thing that doesn’t feel right about A New Legacy is the premise. In the original film Michael Jordan was enlisted by the Looney Tunes to play basketball for them because he was the best player in the world and their only hope of success. In A New Legacy, it’s LeBron’s idea to play basketball and then turns to the Looney Tunes for help, despite the fact that they aren’t good basketball players. There’s even a scene that addresses this where LeBron wants to build a team out of people like Superman and King Kong as they’ll be quite literally unbeatable, but instead Bugs Bunny convinces him that the Tunes are his best option. The problem has been created by LeBron and is only exacerbated further by his inability to use good judgment when building a team.
I have a lot of issues with LeBron’s character, because he just comes across as a total moron in the film. First of all is the way he treats Dom, he doesn’t listen to a word the boy has to say, shows no interest in his passion, and only ever puts him down. Then he wonders why he and Dom don’t get on and starts thinking he’s a bad father…to which his wife has the audacity to say that he is a good dad! I mean if all those traits don’t scream “I’m a terrible father and I’m forcing my own life onto my son against his will because my career’s basically over now.” Then I don’t know what does.
To top this off he is on a constant power trip when being the Tunes’ coach. He doesn’t actually teach them how to play basketball, instead just shows them a fancy move, then gets angry at them when they don’t know how to play basketball. Now I’m sure LeBron didn’t have any say in how he would be portrayed in this film, but basically all he comes across as is an incompetent basketball player who grossly misunderstands how to effectively lead a team, or just listen to people when they talk to him.
Then there’s just the tone and content of the film. I don’t understand why so many kids films now are going for the whole Emoji Movie concept of being stuck in a computer where the entire internet is just right there in an extremely garish and distracting fashion. It’s basically destroyed Ralph Breaks the Internet, it was a big problem with Ready Player One, it was present but not totally overwhelming in The Mitchell’s vs the Machine’s and it looks to be a major component of the upcoming Ron’s Gone Wrong, and it’s a huge factor in this too…in a film about cartoons from the 1930’s playing basketball.
It’s so distracting too, you can’t properly concentrate on what’s happening because there’s so many references to other WB properties on screen at the same time, and most of them taking up more space than the important stuff. It even got to a point where I heard a child behind me asking their mum for their phone because they wanted to look on YouTube for something the film was taking about.
The film is constructed in such a way that it basically wants you to do anything but watch it. There’s a whole sequence where you’re given endless references to properties like DC, The Matrix, Game of Thrones & Mad Max Fury Road and you wonder why you’re sat watching a below average kids film when you could just watch all this other stuff instead. Also why is a kid’s film showing actual footage from The Matrix and Mad Max, they don’t know what those films are, they came out anywhere between a decade and two decades ago and are both rated waaaay above the age rating for this film. Even Pennywise the clown makes a cameo and he’s from a god damn horror film!! It makes literally no sense, and it’s not even handled in a way that adults that will understand the reference will find amusing, it’s just there…and it made me want to go home and watch Mad Max and IT instead of finishing the film!
I have a lot of issues with LeBron’s character, because he just comes across as a total moron in the film. First of all is the way he treats Dom, he doesn’t listen to a word the boy has to say, shows no interest in his passion, and only ever puts him down. Then he wonders why he and Dom don’t get on and starts thinking he’s a bad father…to which his wife has the audacity to say that he is a good dad! I mean if all those traits don’t scream “I’m a terrible father and I’m forcing my own life onto my son against his will because my career’s basically over now.” Then I don’t know what does.
To top this off he is on a constant power trip when being the Tunes’ coach. He doesn’t actually teach them how to play basketball, instead just shows them a fancy move, then gets angry at them when they don’t know how to play basketball. Now I’m sure LeBron didn’t have any say in how he would be portrayed in this film, but basically all he comes across as is an incompetent basketball player who grossly misunderstands how to effectively lead a team, or just listen to people when they talk to him.
Then there’s just the tone and content of the film. I don’t understand why so many kids films now are going for the whole Emoji Movie concept of being stuck in a computer where the entire internet is just right there in an extremely garish and distracting fashion. It’s basically destroyed Ralph Breaks the Internet, it was a big problem with Ready Player One, it was present but not totally overwhelming in The Mitchell’s vs the Machine’s and it looks to be a major component of the upcoming Ron’s Gone Wrong, and it’s a huge factor in this too…in a film about cartoons from the 1930’s playing basketball.
It’s so distracting too, you can’t properly concentrate on what’s happening because there’s so many references to other WB properties on screen at the same time, and most of them taking up more space than the important stuff. It even got to a point where I heard a child behind me asking their mum for their phone because they wanted to look on YouTube for something the film was taking about.
The film is constructed in such a way that it basically wants you to do anything but watch it. There’s a whole sequence where you’re given endless references to properties like DC, The Matrix, Game of Thrones & Mad Max Fury Road and you wonder why you’re sat watching a below average kids film when you could just watch all this other stuff instead. Also why is a kid’s film showing actual footage from The Matrix and Mad Max, they don’t know what those films are, they came out anywhere between a decade and two decades ago and are both rated waaaay above the age rating for this film. Even Pennywise the clown makes a cameo and he’s from a god damn horror film!! It makes literally no sense, and it’s not even handled in a way that adults that will understand the reference will find amusing, it’s just there…and it made me want to go home and watch Mad Max and IT instead of finishing the film!
The film is certainly bright and colourful with lots of detailed CG environments and character models to it, so I will praise that. It also mixes various animation styles together very well, as expected from Warner Animation who produced the impressive looking Lego Movie franchise.
But on the flipside to this, a lot of the design of the film clashes with what Looney Tunes always used to represent. Even the characters themselves have gone through major redesigns, some of them looking nothing like they used to, and then they get all 3D CG’d up akin to 2019’s The Lion King and it looks straight up weird.
Even the soundtrack is a let-down, the original Space Jam had some hugely popular and recognisable music from the 90’s, A New Legacy seems to have just picked up some new stuff making the rounds on SoundCloud as I hadn’t heard any of the songs in this film (and judging by other people’s reactions I’m not the only one).
I can’t think of a sequel, or reboot, that has missed the mark as hard as Space Jam: A New Legacy. It not only doesn’t understand the IP it’s using, but the filmmakers have put so many obstacles in the way of even being able to watch and enjoy the film. A New Legacy doesn’t want to be watched, WB don’t want you to sit through the whole thing, it’s literally just a commercial to get you to go and watch other WB properties and preferably through HBO Max.
I truly loathed this film, and the fact that the kids that were in the screening with me were also bored and wanting to go on their phones rather than watch the film indicates that the film doesn’t deserve to be seen. It’s aggressively bad in almost every facet, and I plan to eject what little of the film remained in my mind as soon as I’m done writing this review. Just don’t even give it the time of day.
But on the flipside to this, a lot of the design of the film clashes with what Looney Tunes always used to represent. Even the characters themselves have gone through major redesigns, some of them looking nothing like they used to, and then they get all 3D CG’d up akin to 2019’s The Lion King and it looks straight up weird.
Even the soundtrack is a let-down, the original Space Jam had some hugely popular and recognisable music from the 90’s, A New Legacy seems to have just picked up some new stuff making the rounds on SoundCloud as I hadn’t heard any of the songs in this film (and judging by other people’s reactions I’m not the only one).
I can’t think of a sequel, or reboot, that has missed the mark as hard as Space Jam: A New Legacy. It not only doesn’t understand the IP it’s using, but the filmmakers have put so many obstacles in the way of even being able to watch and enjoy the film. A New Legacy doesn’t want to be watched, WB don’t want you to sit through the whole thing, it’s literally just a commercial to get you to go and watch other WB properties and preferably through HBO Max.
I truly loathed this film, and the fact that the kids that were in the screening with me were also bored and wanting to go on their phones rather than watch the film indicates that the film doesn’t deserve to be seen. It’s aggressively bad in almost every facet, and I plan to eject what little of the film remained in my mind as soon as I’m done writing this review. Just don’t even give it the time of day.