“Sounds awfully familiar.” —Bugs Bunny
Today’s quick review: Space Jam: A New Legacy. Basketball superstar LeBron James (LeBron James) has a hard time connecting with his son Dom (Cedric Joe), who would rather design video games than shoot hoops. Their relationship is put to the test when Al G. Rhythm (Don Cheadle), a vengeful AI, traps them in a virtual world. The only way out is for LeBron to team up with Bugs Bunny and his friends to defeat Al in a game of basketball.
Space Jam: A New Legacy is a sports comedy that blends live action and animation. Like the original Space Jam, a basketball star is whisked away to play a high-stakes game of basketball alongside Looney Tunes characters. A New Legacy throws a few new ideas into the mix, including a server full of Warner Brothers characters and a video game angle to the game. However, an unfocused plot and some questionable decisions hold the movie back.
First and foremost, A New Legacy is a love letter to Warner Bros. The Serververse is an excuse for Lebron to interact with not only Looney Tunes but a smorgasbord of other characters and franchises. The movie is flooded with referential humor as LeBron and Bugs visit world after world to round up Bugs’ friends. This leads to some fun jokes and unexpected surprises, but it gives the movie an artificial quality it doesn’t really need.
The other major issue with A New Legacy is that the Looney Tunes characters are upstaged in their own movie. Bugs and the others occupy a decidedly supporting role. They fill out LeBron’s team, mug for a few jokes, and lead a quick tour of the Serververse, but they never get the chance to shine. Instead, they are crowded out by LeBron’s story, Al’s grandstanding, and a deluge of video game mechanics and pop culture references.
Yet underneath these trappings, A New Legacy has the makings of a fun family comedy. The relationship between LeBron and his son is a solid base for the story. The humor is scattershot but hits the mark often enough to be entertaining. Bugs and his friends are still fun to see in action. And while the relationship to real-world basketball is tenuous at best, the game between LeBron and Al gives the movie a unique angle.
Space Jam: A New Legacy is missing the simplicity and heart of the original Space Jam, but it still manages to be a light and family-friendly adventure. Anyone in the mood for an eclectic comedy and a chance to see the Looney Tunes cast in action should give it a shot. But anyone with high hopes of a heartfelt sports movie, an expert comedy, or even Looney Tunes at its best should approach with caution.
For a much more focused take on the same concept, try the original Space Jam. For an ambitious crossover set in a virtual world, try Ready Player One. For an eclectic animated comedy with heavy meta elements, try The Lego Batman Movie, The Lego Movie, Teen Titans GO! to the Movies, or Scoob!. For a more straightforward comedy adventure set inside a video game, try Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle or Jumanji: The Next Level.
[4.4 out of 10 on IMDB](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3554046/). I give it a 6.0 to 6.5 for an enjoyable story bogged down with a lot of distractions.