Space Jam: A New Legacy
I know this is a trivial thing from a cinematic standpoint, but speaking as, nominally, a Cavs fan, how does LeBron James not recreate “The Block” from Game 7 of the 2016 NBA Finals in “Space Jam: A New Legacy?” Yes, he and Lola Bunny recreate his iconic image with Dwayne Wade in Miami, but come on! Okay, I’ve got it out of my system, let’s discuss the movie.
The first “Space Jam” is not a film I have ever had affection for, and rewatching it the night before “A New Legacy” came out, I cannot say it’s one I’ll be watching moving forward. I will likely say the same about “A New Legacy.” Both films feel more like vanity projects for NBA stars than movies, and with “A New Legacy,” there’s also something more cynical in how it ties into corporate synergy with Warner Bros. But, I think I had more fun watching “A New Legacy,” and it comes down to Bugs and co.
Both “Space Jam” films serve their respective NBA stars well as screen presentations of their persona. In the original, I really like how it plays like a fan fiction version of Michael Jordan’s brief “retirement” from basketball in the ’90s, while in this one, I think the personal story about James and his family is the main hook for the character, and it fits into his wheelhouse well. Both stars are not strong actors, but both do command the screen well, not to mention, they bounce well off of the Looney Tunes.
“A New Legacy” takes place after James’s move to the Los Angeles Lakers, and he is wanting his sons to take after him on the court. Dom, however, has an aptitude for video games, something James was denied enjoyment of when he was a young court prodigy in Akron, Ohio. Dom (Cedric Joe) has a basketball game he’s been working on that he’s proud of, and he shows his dad right before King James has a meeting with Warner Bros. about him endorsing a new corporate synergy idea where he would be put into the movies he loves. He’s not a big fan of that, and in retaliation, Al G. Rhythm (Don Cheadle)- the virtual entity in the Warner Bros. Serververse- kidnaps Dom, and forces James into a basketball game to get him back, where his team is the down-on-their-luck Looney Tunes. Meanwhile, Al G. Rhythm is working on Dom, getting him to dislike his father, and forcing him to go against his dad in the game.
(Before I get to the Tunes themselves, can I just say how much I appreciate, maybe more than most, that the “villain” of this film is an algorithm manipulating people into doing what they want? If you want to focus on the shameless promotion of Warner Bros. properties and “Ready Player One”-style cameos, that’s fair (especially since the designs of some- when seen up close- are cringe-worthy), but since digital algorithms in social media have become a big point of contention in how they can manipulate our media diet, can we appreciate what the writers have come up in that concept?)
I forgot that the first “Space Jam” was about the Looney Tunes needing to find basketball help for their game against the Monstars. Here, it’s reversed, and I appreciate that- when we first see them- it is a “putting the band back together” sequence through the WB Serververse. The places Bugs and LeBron find the rest of the Tunes make sense sometimes, and are played for laughs in others, but it sets up the tone of the film effortlessly from there on out. One thing I think this one does better than the 1996 film is let the Tunes be their wacky, insane best, especially during parts of the climactic game. That was something that was missing from the first film- at least, to this degree; the first film tried to go for authenticity (relatively speaking) in the game. I like the loonier choices made here.
There’s not really much to be said about the filmmaking. Director Malcolm D. Lee (“Undercover Brother,” “The Best Man,” “Girls Trip”) does a serviceable job orchestrating the madness, even if he can’t cover up the shameless WB cross-promotion nature of the project. The soundtrack doesn’t have quite the collection of classics the first film did, but Kris Bowers knows how to score for this world. I will say that Zendaya, a last-minute addition to voice Lola Bunny, adds nothing to the character; Kath Soucie had so much more personality to the role. That basically sums up the “Space Jam” movies as a whole- some good, some bad, a lot of choices made for reasons that have nothing to do with filmmaking. Don’t take me preferring “A New Legacy” to the original as bias towards LeBron over Michael (even if this Northern Ohio kid will always have one); it’s more about how the Looney Tunes are used, and I think they’re just used better here.
