#michael jordon

Let me start by saying Space Jam 2 slander will not be tolerated here. I read reviews dogging this movie like it was the worst movie ever put to film. People went on and on about how “Michael Jordan was SOOO much better,” and how this movie was just, “one big advertisement.” Mind you, Daffy Duck kissed his WARNER BROTHERS’ stamped ASS in the first movie.

That out of the way, this is probably the most fun I’ve had with a new movie since The Peanuts Movie a few years back. I was admittedly worried by the fact that the Tunes were 3D and it did seem like Warner Brothers was just parading around IP but having watched the original and this back to back, I can’t say that one is any more commercialistic than the other.

And honestly, the movies are so similar that anyone who says that the first one is so much better is incredibly biased towards Lebron. 

Let’s look at the plots.

Beginning:

Space Jam 1: We open with little Michael playing basketball before having a talk with his dad laying out his plans for himself. Cue montage of Michael through the ages. Cut to Moron Mountain where the conflict is introduced: they want the Looney Tunes to come work for them

Space Jam 2: We open with little Lebron at practice, talking to his mom, coach and friends. Cue montage of Lebron through the ages. Cut to Warner Brothers Studios where the AI spells out why he wants Leron James.

Middle:

Space Jam 1: The aliens go to the Looney Tunes’ world to capture them, the Looney Tunes challenge them to basketball. The aliens steal the talent of five players, causing the Tunes to kidnap Michael Jordan. Bugs explains the issue, Michael agrees. The aliens turn Michael into a basketball, the Tunes go to his house to get his shorts.

Space Jam 2: Lebron tells his son he needs to focus more on basketball and is then invited to Warner Brothers Studios where he offends the AI and him and his son are kidnapped. The AI challenges him to a basketball game and sends him to Tune World because they are “rejects.” Lebron meets Bugs, explains the issue and Bugs agrees to help. Bugs and Lebron go to get the Tunes from different worlds

3rd Act/Ending:

Space Jam 1: The basketball game starts and the Monstars have a lead. The team is down so they go to the locker room at halftime and Michael gives them a pep talk, they go back out and catch up. The boss gets upset and Michael says he’ll take the place of the Tunes. The bad guys start winning again, but there’s a last minute win. Michael goes home and gets cheered on, gives the other players their talent.

Space Jam 2: AI brings in an audience, the game starts and Lebron realizes he’s playing against his son. He’s pushing the Tunes too hard and they end up behind. They go to the locker room at halftime and then Lebron has to realize he’s being a bad dad and encourages the Tunes to be themselves. They get a lead and the bad guy gets upset and begins to cheat. Lebron’s son tells him about a glitch and Bugs performs it so they can win. The Tunes win, AI is defeated, Lebron learns to be a better father

Like, these are basically the same movie with updated technology and players. And believe me when I say, I LOVE Space Jam—but don’t ask me to call it a good movie because it 100% is not and in all honesty, A New Legacy fixes a lot of the problems from the original. 

For instance—even though multiple people see Michael Jordan SUCKED DOWN A GOLFHOLE—they don’t do anything about it. They go about their game, say, “Hope he’s okay,” and go home. We see the transition from day to night so even his wife seemed to forget the biggest athlete in the world at the time. In this, security AND his wife notice and it gives her a reason to be at the basketball game. 

And another thing—MICHAEL JORDAN HAS NO REASON TO HELP THE TUNES—specifically, he has no reason to offer himself up in their place because what happens between the two parties doesn’t affect him or the Earth at large. New Legacy gives Lebron a reason to be in Tune World, it makes it so he’s the one who needs help, and it gives stakes to the outcome of the game.

There’s a few more instances like that which is a long way of saying: Space Jam: A New Legacy is not the massive failure it’s being made out to be. It’s incredibly fun, it’s upbeat and it’s the most 2D animation I’ve seen on the big screen in over a decade. I think me and my partner actually enjoyed it more than our son (9) did, because we have more of an emotional connection with the Looney Tunes. 

Lebron is not the Denzel of our time, but when he’s interacting with the Tunes he’s incredibly sincere (something that Michael DID not do in the original, he barely interacts with them) and in those moments he has to play Dad, he is at least 60% believable. 

I also like Don Cheadle a whole lot more than I do the alien’s boss (even though it’s really bizarre that with all that IP NO ONE recognizes Don Cheadle) and I like that there’s an explanation given for why the basketball game can include such looniness. It’s about style, not necessarily the rules. 

And for those who want to talk about the commercialism….in the original, when Stan comes to get Jordan he says the name of FIVE different companies in one sentence. They CONSTANTLY bring attention to Mike’s shoes, and as previously mentioned—Daffy kisses his own ass. While they do have other IP on screen in this movie, it honestly seemed like something the Tunes would do if they could interact with other Warner Brothers characters. It was looney and in good fun. 

The bottom line of the longest review I will have ever written in my life—is that fun is fun. Space Jam doesn’t need to be high art, it can be a 95 minute romp with a basketball player and a cartoon bunny and that can be the end of it. 

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