Sp[ace Jam: A New Legacy
By: Anton Massopust III
“Taking care of the people you love – that’s what’s important! That’s all, folks!” – Bugs Bunny.
It has been a long time since the Looney Tunes characters played basketball with Michael Jordan in the original “Space Jam (1996)”, and now it is time for an upgrade in “Space: Jam A New Legacy”. First, let’s talk about the original “Space Jam” and one sort of sequel, “Looney Tunes: Back in Action”. Then, we will talk about the new film.
In the original “Space Jam”, Michael Jordan is recruited by Bugs Bunny to save Looney Tunes from a group of aliens that grow very, very big, so they need the best basketball player in the world to save them before they’re taken to Moron Mountain. Of course, Michael Jordan helps them, and they save the day. In the sort of sequel, “Looney Tunes: Back in Action (2003)”, Actor DJ Drake (Brendan Fraser of The Mummy fame) helps Bugs and Daffy track down DJ’s father, Damien Drake (Timothy Dalton) to stop Acme before they turn everybody into monkeys. The movie fair, but nothing too special.
In “Space Jam: A New Legacy”, legendary Basketball King, LeBron James is kidnapped by evil AI-G Rhythm (Artificial Intelligence) played by Don Cheadle. AI-G also kidnaps with LeBron’s son, Darius James (Ceyair J. Wright) who loves to play video games and wants to be a video game designer – not a basketball player.
AI-G takes Darius’s video game (NBA and WNBA) using a scanner to make images of them and put them in the game as video game characters, but they are supervillains with special powers. The Goon Squad created Brembo bronze son video game and gives NBA players evil upgrade. AI-G sends LeBron James into the Looney Tunes world for him to get a team together to play a basketball game against AI-G’s team, “The Goon Squad”. LeBron meets Bugs Bunny who is all alone in the Looney Tunes world and wants to get his all his friends back together again. They gather his friends from across the Warner Brothers Universe to get the squad back together. LeBron tries to teach the Looney Tunes the fundamentals of basketball, but soon realizes that he must let them be themselves to play the game of basketball their way. The Toon Squad is even turned from the old hand-drawn form into CGI characters. This video basketball game has its own rules, and you have to use upgrades and style points in order to win.
This film is way too complicated and has the feel a super expensive giant video game. I do like all the cameos of famous Warner Bros. characters from old television series and movies. Also featured are classic Hanna Barbera characters (in the audience) scattered throughout the film. I think I’d rather play this game than watch this as a movie. The jokes fall flat. As for the Looney Tunes themselves, everybody has a chance to shine, but the only characters that are actually given something to do are Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck (who gets all the funny lines) and Lola Bunny, a character whom Warner Bros. greatly improved, making her more sporty and fun. They tried to make her character dumb in the Looney Tunes Show (2011-2014) but it didn’t work. Bugs Bunny is given a more noble character (a hero’s role) as time goes on throughout the film. AI-G Rhythm would be more interesting if he was more of a threat and a real villain.
“Space Jam: A New Legacy has a lot of good parts and bad parts. It could have been greatly improved upon. It’s one of those movies you forget about a few days after you’ve seen it. I think little kids will enjoy it more for the ride. Older kids and adults may not find it interesting. That’s what’s up, doc!
