Space Jam: A New Legacy is a soulless and joyless experience that doesn't even succeed at being entertaining in any way. While the original Space Jam (1996) was also a corporate cash grab, it at least had a distinct sense of charm and fun that is severely lacking here. The film felt more like a 2 hour long advertisement for the various properties that Warner Brother own than an actual film. The references to R-rated properties such as Mad Max, The Matrix and Game of Thrones seem out of place for a family film (cynics could say the film is targeted at millennials)
The plot centres around the strained relationship between LeBron James' relationship with his youngest son Dom, who wants to be a video game developer rather than a basketballer like his Dad. After the two are sucked into the 'Warnerverse' they are pitted against one another in a game of basketball based on the game Dom has been developing ('Domball'). This is not an emotionally investing storyline mainly due to James' stilted performance which may be worse than Michael Jordan's in the original. I guess there is a positive parental message here regarding letting your kids chase their own dreams rather than impose your own onto them. It could have been executed much better though.
I like to find the positives where I can, and the animation and CGI in the film is really vibrant and pops off the screen. It's easily the highlight of the film but unfortunately it has nothing to back it up with - I found the film exceptionally tedious and the jokes were mostly cringeworthy and unfunny. The most humour I got out of the experience was how awfully brazen and out-of-place a lot of references were. Pennywise the Clown and the Night King enjoying a game of basketball? Rick and Morty dropping off the Tasmanian Devil onto the heroes? What even was going on in this film?
Really I can't recommend this film in any capacity. It's an overly long and thoroughly dull slog through Warner Brothers self-congratulatory vanity project that seems to lack any sense of self-awareness. I couldn't wait for this one to finish.
The plot centres around the strained relationship between LeBron James' relationship with his youngest son Dom, who wants to be a video game developer rather than a basketballer like his Dad. After the two are sucked into the 'Warnerverse' they are pitted against one another in a game of basketball based on the game Dom has been developing ('Domball'). This is not an emotionally investing storyline mainly due to James' stilted performance which may be worse than Michael Jordan's in the original. I guess there is a positive parental message here regarding letting your kids chase their own dreams rather than impose your own onto them. It could have been executed much better though.
I like to find the positives where I can, and the animation and CGI in the film is really vibrant and pops off the screen. It's easily the highlight of the film but unfortunately it has nothing to back it up with - I found the film exceptionally tedious and the jokes were mostly cringeworthy and unfunny. The most humour I got out of the experience was how awfully brazen and out-of-place a lot of references were. Pennywise the Clown and the Night King enjoying a game of basketball? Rick and Morty dropping off the Tasmanian Devil onto the heroes? What even was going on in this film?
Really I can't recommend this film in any capacity. It's an overly long and thoroughly dull slog through Warner Brothers self-congratulatory vanity project that seems to lack any sense of self-awareness. I couldn't wait for this one to finish.