Space Jam: A New Legacy

It’s important to acknowledge nostalgia as a key factor when discussing favourite movies. Like any art form, the situation surrounding your first experience of it can have a huge effect. So it is that to many children of the 90’s, the frankly ridiculous original Space Jam incites rose-tinted thrills and ticks massive nostalgia boxes. Michael Jordan having to play a game of basketball with the Looney Tunes for some reason? Brilliant!

It doesn’t quite take the all-time cartoon/live-action hybrid crown (that will forever belong to Who Framed Roger Rabbit?) but its combination of wackiness and tongue-in-cheek gives it a prominent standing in 90’s entertainment.

Now, rebooting the thing in 2021 (as Space Jam: A New Legacy) actually isn’t the worst idea in the world. There’s only about 1 in 10 original films coming out these days and selecting a much-loved one-off and bringing back the Looney Tunes definitely ticks some boxes. LeBron James has already established himself as a decent actor in projects like Trainwreck and we’ve got the CGI nowadays to really give some fireworks to this thing.

So the verdict? It’s enjoyable, and by no means actively ‘bad’, but it just doesn’t quite work (sadly). Like the excellent Jumaniji reboot and the second Wreck-It Ralph, this version of Space Jam is ‘internet themed’ and revolves around movie LeBron and his videogame-designing son (excellent newcomer Cedric Joe) getting sucked into the servers at Warner Bros. Studios and having to play a game of basketball against the ‘leader’ of this domain: Don Cheadle’s Al-G Rhythm.

Cheadle chews scenery for fun here, and the design of his basketball-playing avatar is great, but plot motivation is basically non-existent and riddled with plot holes. Largely forgivable in a film like this, yes, but it doesn’t help itself when paired with a script stuffed with supposedly dramatic clangers surrounding family and self-belief. A Looney Tunes-based film really doesn’t need to be a vehicle for moral messages of self-improvement and it just comes across like the film was written by a committee.

They’ve done well to hire some excellent cast members to help deliver the material but they’re completely wasted with big hitters like Sonequa Martin-Green, Sarah Silverman and Steven Yeun literally given about one line of script each.

It’s left to the toons to bring the entertainment and they largely deliver, as you’d expect. The whole gang are here and more of an arc is given to Bugs and the reasoning behind him reassembling the team. They work with LeBron well and the highlight of the film is a short sequence midway through where WB pull out all of the big IP's and place the characters into classic movies including Mad Mad: Fury Road, The Matrix, Casablanca and a cartoon sequence set in Metropolis. I’m not sure what the young ‘uns will get out of this montage but for the film buffs in the audience it delivers. The similarities with the aforementioned Ralph Breaks The Internet are abundant but with numerous Game Of Thrones, Harry Potter, Batman and even A Clockwork Orange Easter Eggs it works for film fans.

Despite these highlights though, the film just can’t quite decide what it wants to be. It’s too long, too derivative, too self-important and too much of a marketing tool for WB and its associate brands (LeBron crashing into Toonworld and leaving behind a Nike swoosh is at once hilarious and cynical).

It’s the issue with 2021 in general, too many projects trying to be all things to all people. A Looney Tunes film doesn’t need a conscience or a marketing team it just needs to be fun and, shockingly, there are times here where you’ll glance at your watch. It feels like too many executives have had a go at stirring the pot and it's muddled.

Not quite a nostalgia slam dunk, more like nothing but Net-flix (when you can’t think of anything else to watch.)

2 stars **