For anyone growing up during the 90's era, Warner Brothers Space Jam served as the epitome of its culture. Released in 1996, the film became a cult-classic along with its unforgettable soundtrack. Fast-forward 25 years later, audiences are finally delivered a sequel that aspires to create its own legacy while distancing itself from the original. Whereas that film capitalized on the fame of then Basketball star Michael Jordan, the sequel places Lebron James in the main role with less satisfying results. Though mildly entertaining, the sequel strives to make a winning team out of both James and the Looney Toons, yet often finds itself missing the magical feel, meta-humor, and heart of its iconic predecessor.
Space Jam: A New Legacy has basketball star Lebron James trapped in a digital space while attempting to rescue his kidnapped young son (Cedric Joe) from a rogue AI (Don Cheadle). To get him back, he teams up with Bugs Bunny and the Looney Toons squad for a high-stakes basketball game against the AI's digitized champions. The first film was a hit with audiences because of its clever pairing of The Looney Toons with Michael Jordan. It was the latter's star power along with the combined talents of Bill Murray, Wayne Knight, and Danny Devito which made it a success. The sequel tries its hardest to make lightning strike twice with James as the main celebrity attraction, though the problem lies with the film utilizing the exact same formula as the original yet feeling half-hearted in its intentions. Despite the sequel having a positive message behind it for kids, its tone feels uneven with the stories human focus feeling too pretentious at times. The newest film aspires to be a worthy follow-up to its original while building its own legacy. While it doesn't succeed on that front, it's not a full-blown letdown with it managing to be passable at best.
The first Space Jam was elevated by Jordan's presence, which gave it a larger than life feel. His acting wasn't the greatest, but his performance managed to be serviceable enough in propelling the story. When audiences watched Jordan, they were looking at a real star. The performance that Lebron James puts in here is passable considering his lack of acting experience, though he doesn't match the presence that Jordan had in the original. Don Cheadle hammers it up as Al-G Rhythm with him making the most out of his role in the film. Cedric Joe impresses as Lebron's fictionalized younger son Dom with both sharing convincing chemistry, which allows the audience to buy their father-son relationship. Sonequa Martin-Green shines as Lebron's fictionalized wife in the film Kamiyah James, with Ceyair J. Wright as Lebron's oldest son Darius. Harper Leigh Alexander does well as Lebron's daughter Xosha James. Despite the film centering around Lebron James and the Looney Toons, the supporting cast does well in filling James' family tree. The voice actors all do terrific jobs in the roles of the Looney Toons with Zendaya giving a smooth character upgrade of Toon character Lola.
Malcom D. Lee's directing provides a more colorful and visually dazzling atmosphere in comparison to its predecessor with the films digital look drawing comparisons to Steven Spielberg's Ready Player One. The original Jam was immersive with its blending of the natural world combined with the animated one. Although it's visuals look outdated by today's standards, they achieved a perfect balance of reality and fiction that the sequel often struggles with. The cinematography, though colorful, feels uneven with the film shifting from a realistic documentary style look in the scenes focusing on Lebron to the animation generally used for Looney Toons cartoons, and the digital computer universe that Cheadle's character controls. Another area where the sequel pales in comparison to the original is its soundtrack, which lacks a memorable theme. The original film had hit singles that 90's audiences still recite such as Fly Like An Eagle and I Believe I Can Fly. Despite the sequel being longer in length, the pacing keeps everything moving relatively fast. On a visual level, Lee gives the sequel a significant technological upgrade, particularly when the Toon squad is transformed into 3D animation. Considering this is his first effort in handling CGI/animated characters, he does a solid job but doesn't balance things as well as original director Joe Pytka's work on the first.
The first Space Jam was about making dreams become reality with the writing showing Michael's struggle with choosing between the profession he loves, and that of his fathers which was Baseball. The story was structured around Michael leaving the game behind, but slowly finding his way back to the court through his helping with getting the Looney Toons to stand up to the space aliens trying to imprison them. The script for A New Legacy takes a different angle yet still carries a strong message for young kids that says adversity is part of the process of pursuing a goal, while encouraging them to dream big. The core of the film lies with the relationship between Lebron and his son Dom with the latter desiring to pursue his own dreams rather than be the Basketball player his father wants him to be. The character of Al-G never matches the intimidating presence of Swackhammer (Danny Devito) from the original nor does the audience feel what's at stake in the sequel like in comparison to the first with the Looney Toon's potentially becoming prisoners to the Nerdlucks. The sequel carries a more serious tone along with a more corporate-driven approach that's evident with the overstuffing of Warner Brothers properties (Game Of Thrones, Superman, The Matrix) and endless cameos being showcased throughout the film. Although those moments provide nostalgic laughs, they also take away from the sincerity of the films storytelling. The most interesting aspect about the firsts story was that it wasn't just a personal character arc for Michael Jordan in choosing between two professions, but other Basketball players were shown struggling without their skills at playing Basketball. The audience cared about the side characters in addition to Jordan and the Looney Toon's such as Bill Murray's character wanting to play professional Basketball and even appreciated Wayne Knight's role. Al-G trying to get Dom to choose his side over his fathers in winning the Basketball tournament feels like a subplot lifted from Steven Spielberg's Hook with Lebron's character arc not being as engaging as Michael's. Despite the scripts noble intentions with the message it aims to convey to young kids, the script for A New Legacy doesn't feel like it has its full heart invested in it.
Continuing the legacy of Space Jam for a new generation of audiences was always going to end up being dicey for its creative team. The film lacks the personal touch that the original had along with making audiences empathize with its main star. Whereas audiences cared about wanting to see Jordan continue playing Basketball, it's hard to find reason to like Lebron in the sequel considering how he pushes Dom to choose his profession. The film will delight young kids who just want to see Lebron James team up with the Looney Toons. For those who are fond of the original, they'll find this legacy to be one that doesn't live up to the originals name. Whereas the first had audiences feeling that they could touch the sky in regards to fulfilling their dreams, the sequel never exactly figures out what way it wants audiences to feel other than disappointment in watching it.
Final Verdict: Stream It Only.
Images Courtesy Of Warner Brothers
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