I'm not really a fan of the original Space Jam from 1996; I mean, I think it's okay, but nothing much more. I understand that it's a film a lot of people have a certain nostalgia for, but it doesn't really do much for me. To be honest, I'd also go as far as to say that I'm not really that attached to the Looney Tunes in general. Obviously I know who they are and enjoy their antics, and as someone who loves animation I of course recognise their significance in shaping the medium, but I don't have much personal fondness for them in ways that I do for other cartoon characters. Despite all this, Space Jam: A New Legacy had my attention. I was very curious to see how this sequel would end up, and also got the sense that I may actually enjoy it, based on the trailers which looked like a ton of fun. So, I went to see it.
In the film, LeBron James' son, Dom, is sucked into a computer system operated by an A.I. named Al G Rhythm. He is told that the only way he can get his son back is if he plays Al G at a game of basketball. After searching the vast Warner Bros. 'Serververse' for characters to play on his team, James ends up gathering up the Looney Tunes to help him play the match against Al G's 'Goon Squad'.
It's no surprise that this sequel to a twenty-five year old film is almost identical to that original film, in the same way that Jurassic World and Star Wars: The Force Awakens are very similar to their original counterparts. The set-up is just as contrived, the outcome is just as predictable, and there's little to no variety when comparing the tone and humour across both films. However, there is one notable difference that kind of strikes me as baffling, and that's the pacing. The original feels like it's rushing from point A to B all throughout the film, meaning there's hardly any time for the audience to engage themselves in what's happening as it all happens so briskly, which is my main problem with that film. In contrast, this one feels like it just takes ages to do so; it feels so drawn out and overly long, as you can probably tell from the film's nearly two hour runtime, which is considerably longer than the original. Seeing this film makes me somewhat keen to revisit and perhaps reassess the original Space Jam, because maybe its more flippant and frantic pace is better suited for a movie of this nature. After all, the Looney Tunes are best known for just appearing in short vignettes, so maybe a film that stays more true to that style is better off.
This issue is exacerbated by the fact that Space Jam: A New Legacy is also a really tiring experience. Not because I was getting bored, but because the film has so much spectacle and so much CGI chaos going on that it eventually just devolves into mindless and headache-inducing noise. This may only be as problematic as it was because I was watching the film on a day where it was thirty degrees here in the UK and also because the audience I was with in the cinema was uniquely terrible, but I do tend to get a little fatigued by films that just go overboard with all the ridiculousness they have on offer, which this absolutely did. The central basketball match is given more screentime in this one compared to the original, but I was remarkably unengaged with it. I was just so exhausted by most of everything that'd happened up to that point that I didn't really want to see more.
It's also largely evident that the film feels very corporate. There are tons of attempts to shove a bunch of recognisable IPs beyond the Looney Tunes into the film, including an entire montage dedicated to assembling the Looney Tunes and doing so by showing each of them inhabiting different worlds owned by Warner Bros. such as DC, Mad Max, and The Matrix. This obviously isn't anything novel nowadays, especially from Warner Bros. after Ready Player One from a few years ago, but what Ready Player One does differently to Space Jam: A New Legacy is that, in that film, not only are these other recognisable characters more naturally integrated, but some play a role beyond just appearing, serving a purpose in the narrative, not to mention the fact that that film is infinitely better paced. Here, they are completely superficial and their inclusions feel extremely forced, making the film seem very self-indulgent and even more bloated.
So, with all that being said, is there anything good about the movie? Well, yes, there are a few things I liked. I don't know if this will be a popular opinion or not, but I actually preferred LeBron James over Michael Jordan. While I'm completely unfamiliar with both in reality as well as the world of basketball in general, from what I have picked up after watching both of them in these two movies, James struck me as just a lot more charismatic and also as if he was a lot more in the moment compared to Jordan, which I'm guessing is probably because he has had a bit more experience with appearing in films before.
Additionally, although the film was quite fatiguing, I still think the visuals it depicts are mostly really cool. The Serververse in particular is a really inventive and dazzling setting, mixing all the different worlds of Warner Bros. very creatively and always being visually appealing. It was also really neat to see the Looney Tunes given the CGI / photorealistic update and, surprisingly, not losing any ounce of their charm as a result of that transition. I also like how the movie gave more of the gang a time to shine - characters such Wil E. Coyote, the Roadrunner (my favourite of the bunch), Speedy Gonzales, Foghorn Leghorn, and Gossamer, all of whom weren't too prominent in the original (at least from what I can recall), get a lot more to do here, which was nice. In general, I had no problem with the Looney Tunes themselves in the movie, they have an innate charm to them and are always a fun and welcome presence.
Overall, Space Jam: A New Legacy is fine, but nothing more. It has a likeable star, boasts some interesting visuals, and has fragments of the charm you expect from the Looney Tunes, but it's far too long, gets very tiring after some time, and is bogged down by a very corporate nature. I can't really label this as a let down as I wasn't really expecting much in the first place and always had an underlying sense that it probably wasn't going to be that good. Still, when you've got one hundred and fifty million dollars and access to some of the most timeless and fun characters in animation history, I also can't help but feel like something better could've been done. In terms of how it compares to the original, I think I'd rather go with that film over this, and purely because of pace. Although I don't like the pace of either, if I had to choose between the lesser of two evils, I'd probably go with short and fast over long and slow, because at least the former is over sooner and doesn't outstay its welcome, which A New Legacy definitely does.
I'm going to give Space Jam: A New Legacy a 5.5/10
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