NBA star LeBron James and Bugs Bunny star in Space Jam: A New Legacy. In cinemas now.
NBA star LeBron James and Bugs Bunny star in Space Jam: A New Legacy. In cinemas now.
NBA superstar LeBron James shares the screen with characters owned by Warner Bros. for this follow-up to the 1996 Michael Jordan live action/animation hybrid beloved by those who saw it as a kid and nobody else.
The plot sees James (playing himself alongside actors portraying his family) sucked into theWarner Bros. 'Server-Verse' after a meeting at the venerable film studio. There he teams up with Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck and other WB cartoon favourites (who are quickly upgraded from traditional animation to somewhat soulless CGI) to compete in a crazy basketball(-esque) game in order to rescue his son Dom (Cedric Joe), who has fallen under the influence of a vengeful algorithm personified by Don Cheadle.
So the 'space' this time around is cyberspace, and the server context means we glimpse worlds centered around Warners-controlled properties like Game of Thrones, The Matrix, Casablanca, Harry Potter and more.
Once the game is underway, the crowd is made up of even more WB characters, so we get to see The Mask (not played by Jim Carrey) cheering on the sidelines alongside The Penguin from the '60s Batman show, The Penguin from Batman Returns and the flying monkeys from The Wizard of Oz. And Pennywise from It. And so on.
It's distracting to say the least, and basically renders this a brazen showcase of the company's intellectual property assets devoid of narrative purpose. It's feels more like a shareholder meeting than a movie.
Still, while the grown-ups play Spot The Background Cameo, the kids will probably be entertained by the colourful, agile shenanigans on display.
The camera loves James, but acting isn't his strong point.
Although intellectual property undeniably drives popular cinema these days, this film fails in its duty to come across as anything more than a shameless marketing exercise.
Cast: LeBron James, Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck Director: Malcolm D. Lee Running time: 116 minutes Rating: PG (Violence) Verdict: Kids may have fun but adults should brace themselves.
