‘Space Jam: A New Legacy’
A movie that trounces a golden legacy for one generation and attempts to create a new love.
Photo Courtesy of Warner Bros.‘Space Jam: A New Legacy’ is one of the more controversial remakes in recent years. It’s an attempt to reignite an unforgettable movie from most of our childhoods. As a new generation has watched LeBron James rise to glory on the basketball court, Warner Bros. attempts to capitalize on his stature via the big screen.
There are two viewpoints to approaching ‘Space Jam: A New Legacy.’ One point of view can be summarized as “Why did they have to go back to remake a golden movie from our childhood?” An understandable viewpoint and one that underpins why this movie is so controversial.
Another is that this movie was made for the kids of today. Michael Jordan is more of a mirage than a figure they have watched dominate the court. As such, this movie was made to please a new audience. Not the audience that grew up loving the original ‘Space Jam.’
Let’s dive in to see how your perspective will determine how you might see this movie.
Movie Premise
LeBron James and his youngest son, Dom, are kidnapped in a digital space controlled by a rogue artificial intelligence. To bring his son home, LeBron must lead a team of Looney Tunes characters to victory on the basketball court against the A.I’s digitized characters. LeBron faces the most important game of his life as he and the Toon Squad face down the Goon Squad. A high-stakes challenge will change LeBron and his son’s bond as well as shine a light on the importance of being yourself.
From the viewpoint of the 1990–2000s generation, the Michael Jordan version of ‘Space Jam’ encapsulates their childhoods. It’s an untouchable gem that takes them down memory lane for so many reasons. Some of you probably have memories of dressing up in Jordan’s Toon Squad jersey for Halloween. Therefore, anyone who tries to encroach on that legacy has a steep hill to climb.
On the other hand, this movie was never intended for the MJ ‘Space Jam’ generation. There’s probably a reason why “a new legacy” is included in the movie's name. It wasn’t designed to please the same audience as the original. Instead, it’s supposed to be a new movie for a new generation of children. All of that being said, it’s still hard to shake the legacy it carries.
It's easy to see that this movie relies heavily on rebranding its Looney Toons characters to entertain. Even worse it has forgotten what made the first movie so popular, quality humor. Instead, moving quickly through any part that is remotely humorous to serve the final basketball showdown. Additionally, it drags other characters owned by Warner Bros. into the movie to persuade the audience to be entertained.
LeBron James may be an outstanding athlete, entrepreneur, philanthropist, and activist, but his lack of dynamic acting ability shows. He nailed his role in ‘Trainwreck’, but carrying a larger and longer role requires more vigorous acting. Yes, he may just be playing himself in this movie but the role still requires him to act in certain scenes.
Photo Courtesy of Warner Bros.Aside from LeBron, Don Cheadle, who plays AI-G Rythm, pulls off an excellent villain. He can play a friend when he needs to, then a crazed villain intent on being noticed by a world that has taken him for granted. On top of that, Cedric Joe and Ceyair J Wright both play LeBron's kids very well and make you root for their characters.
This movie carries a legacy on its shoulders, one that can not be shaken. For these reasons, it landed a 3.5/10 on Barry’s Bites rating scale. Check out the trailer below!
Barry’s Bites Score = 3.5/10
