In this sequel to 1996's Space Jam, which has developed a loyal fan base over the years, basketball player LeBron James is trapped in the WarnerMedia Serververse (home to all WB IP), by a vengeful computer program Al G. Rhythm (get it?!) (played by Don Cheadle). He's also kidnapped James' son (his movie son, not real son) (played by Cedric Joe) and won't let them leave unless LeBron beats Rhythm's team at basketball. The athlete ends up teaming up with the Looney Tunes in order to save the day.
First off, LeBron is not a great actor. Michael Jordan in the original wasn't a great one either, but he fared better than LeBron. 'Course, I think the first film knew how to play better to the lead's strengths. This film feels more story heavy and Lebron is required to do a lot more. The movie have him at times to be a hard father who wants different things than his son and having LeBron be a bit of a jerk, albeit unintended, and do more serious stuff isn't a thing he can pull off. That having been said, the guy is definitely game for everything and doing his best and doesn't seem disinterested or like he's coasting. LeBron does better with the non-exposition scenes when he gets to be happy or mad. The star/Toon dynamic is also different. Jordan was more the cool mentor type who was weirdly chill when he met Bugs, LeBron's more likely to be a part of the lunacy and is legitimately thrilled to meet the rabbit (voiced by Jeff Bergman).
Cheadle on the other hand, is given some very basic bad guy dialogue with his material, but he's doing his best with what he's got here.
SJaNL is a lot like the original in that it's not perfect, but there's a lot to like about it. There are several clever or funny moments throughout this. The movie doesn't take itself too seriously and you shouldn't either. I appreciate that New Legacy tackles the same basic story as Space Jam but manages to do it in a different enough way, switching from an alien threat to computer programs and giving more of a video game theme to how the basketball game is played. Plus, the stakes feel a little bigger here than in the original. The father/son gap is predictable but is handled pretty well, and the script does a good job of explaining why LeBron has this tough style of parenting at the beginning. You can't get behind him, but you understand where he's coming from.
I know a lot of people are complaining about how much WB product is jammed into this and that this feels like an advertisement for the company. Personally, I'm not hating it. I won't deny that except for Bugs, the plot and other properties don't give the Looney Tunes enough time to shine with such characters as the Tazmanian Devil (Fred Tatasciore), Elmer Fudd (Eric Bauza) and Lola Bunny (Zendaya) barely getting anything to do. But, the various worlds and characters in this movie add a bit of fun to the proceedings and it's fun to see LeBron and the Toons interact with it all. There are a surprising amount of references for just the adults and that'll be fun for older audiences. However, expect kids to ask questions about properties that they don't know about. There are a a few selections in this that one can argue don't fit in a kids' movie (like Game of Thrones and a background cameo of the Droogs from Clockwork Orange). Also, they really try to squeeze in EVERY property WB owns, resulting in references that your kids won't get, such as background appearances by the kid from The Bad Seed and Baby Jane.
I think I liked The Monstars, the rival team from the first Space Jam, a little more than this films' team The Goon Squad. (The Monstars had more of a traditional Looney Tunes look and feel to them). That having been said, I liked the new guys. It took me a moment to warm up The Goon Squad 'cause their design was a different style than the Toons, but at the end of the day, credit has to be given to giving each character a distinct look and powers.
I think I preferred the original's use of cel animation and greater shadow work, which resulted in a more theatrical feel. Still, the animators definitely did a lot of work here, resulting in a slick, shiny look. For the 2D animation, I mean. The ads have been stressing the Toons' new 3D designs, which also look good, but they don't appear immediately. And that's the neat thing about this movie: it's mix of styles and media. You'll see LeBron switch between cartoon and live-action based on what world he's in. (By the way, I particularly liked the design of his cartoon version.) There is one particular world featuring Lola that particularly feels visually unique and really well animated. Going back to what I was saying about liking what they do differently between movies, I liked what they did with the basketball court here. It feels very different from the traditional indoor court of the first film and has a grander scale when it comes to the audience.
I think I liked the first film better, because it was simpler in it's story and more emphasis was put on the Looney Tunes, but I did have fun with this. Imperfect, but the highs are definitely highs. You're children will probably love this.
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