Space Jam : Nouvelle Ère

Bow down, you are about to be brought before the KING. This movie is all about why you should love and praise LeBron. Forget about story telling, let's gather to witness the greatness that is LeBron. With a capitol G. This is a huge middle finger to the original Space Jam. Michael didn't have to shove his reputation down your throat because his reputation preceeded him. He's the best, that's it. LeBron tries to recreate that here artificially. He doesn't have the weight or presence that Michael had, so he's over compensating. Why make a second if it's not for story? Can Hollywood really profit off of such a failed story if they throw in some characters you know? Get ready for the commercial about LeBron that is space jam 2. Hollywood has become the employee that everyone hates because they hate their job and do barely enough to not get fired.

Let's be honest: the original Space Jam was not a great movie. It holds nostalgia in our eyes because it starred the greatest basketball player of all time next to some of our favorite cartoons. However, the original Space Jam looks like a classic compared to this overly produced mess of a sequel.

First off, let's get something straight. LeBron James is an amazing basketball player and he's very popular with young adults. However, he does not have the same aura about him that Michael Jordan did. MJ came at a time when being a celebrity wasn't so ubiquitous like it is now with the Internet and social media. Also, media is so fragmented now that we really don't have those "shared" experiences like we once did. EVERYONE knew MJ and the Chicago Bulls, basketball fans or not. I'm not sure LeBron has that same appeal. Also, even if people didn't like MJ, they respected him. Maybe it's because he gets political, or maybe because he switches teams, I don't know why, but LeBron is much more polarizing. Maybe it's just the cultural climate we live in today, but there are a lot of people who straight up don't like the guy.

The second thing is how corporate this movie is. So many product placements and pseudo commercials all over the place. It takes people out of the story and makes it feel like you are just watching endless commercials for 120 minutes.

Third, 120 minutes is way too long for families. 90 minutes or less. Kids loss attention after that. So do adults.

This movie is fine if you are looking for something to do for 2 hours, but there are better ways to spend that time than watching a lukewarm, unnecessary, over the top commercial showcase designed as a sequel to Space Jam.

Honestly, this movie wasn't as bad as people are saying. I thought it was a fun, entertaining way to spend two hours.

Not well scripted or acted. Hollywood needs to learn that highly paid pampered privileged athletes are not commanding endearing moments from audiences. If you want to waste money because you love LeBron go ahead...guarantee you will walk away feeling like you put money in a shredder!

In 1996, the original Space Jam "had something", so to speak. Seeing Michael Jordan on the big screen interacting with the Looney Tunes was a first-of-its-kind sort of experience, and despite the ridiculous concept it worked perfectly. Sadly, this long-await sequel captures absolutely none of that magic or fun.

For a very basic overview, Space Jam: A New Legacy sees Warner Brother's sentient artificial intelligence Al G. Rhythm (Don Cheadle) hatch a plan inside the "server-verse" to finally get the recognition he feels he deserves. Central to that mission? Abducting LeBron James and family to play in a high-stakes basketball game that pits father against son. Along the way, James must root out the old Looney gang for the epic court contest.

I will readily admit that nostalgia for the original got me into the theater to see this sequel. Absolutely no doubt about that. However, I will not concede that the same nostalgia is preventing me from giving this one a better rating than 3/10. "A New Legacy" is just a bad movie, plain and simple, for numerous reasons...

-Whereas Michael Jordan just had to show up and be himself in the original, here LeBron James is given the emotional heavy-lifting tasks. Predictably, it does not go well. He cannot believably convey a single emotion.

-A lot of people are criticizing the decision to showcase so many WB properties (Harry Potter, Superman, Batman, Matrix, Game of Thrones, etc.) in this film. That didn't so much bother me, and I actually enjoyed the concept of a tongue-in-cheek poking fun at those topics. But it all comes crashing down when the finished product looks suspiciously like an algorithm-created property that the plot was trying to skewer!

-The "Looney Tunes playing basketball" concept is no longer new (by virtue of the '96 effort), and nothing is done to spruce that avenue up whatsoever. Same old gags just replayed again. Also, the way we interact with athletes is so different now that James simply cannot command the cultural cache that MJ once did. Just having him physically present isn't enough like it may have been in the mid-90s.

Overall, "Space Jam: A New Legacy" is a clunker, no two ways around it. It isn't the worst film I've ever seen (it got me to chuckle a few times), but it is almost completely devoid of any real emotion or fun, in stark contrast to its predecessor that is still considered one of the most fun films ever made.