Or maybe a different type of Jam, the kind in Space. Last night I watched Space Jam: A New Legacy. Let me start off by saying that this was NEVER going to top the original for me. I’m a millennial and loving the first Space Jam is my birth right.
Now that that’s out of the way, I was actually pleasantly surprised by A New Legacy. And that’s a high compliment. I was prepared to hate this film with a passion, fangirling and yelling at the TV that they were doing it wrong. But I didn’t do that (a lot). Of course, things were different, amped up for the new generation. But there was still that looney charm paired with the right amount of snark that I loved from the original. Plus, there’s an adorable little new light bulb looking character to love (that I’m sure is a spark plug or something computery, but to me it’s a light bulb). There was something for everyone and for kids of all ages, including me.
In true Space Jam fashion get ready for A LOT of brand references. I promise you that you will never forget which studio made this movie. As an adult, I think it would be a good drinking game to take a sip whenever you hear the words “Warner Brothers” or see/hear a reference to another one of their properties. You would be passssed out by the 40 min mark. So, on second thought maybe it wouldn’t be a good drinking game.
Without spoiling anything there were some really cool live action integrations about 1/3rd of the way through that were jaw-droppingly cool. And Yosemite Sam’s comment about emotional baggage literally made me laugh out loud.
LeBron James was a fair follow-up to Michael Jordan. The Looney Toon gang had fun with his character. They made a wink his career and just started calling him “Cleveland” at a certain point. There’s even a couple fun cameos and throwback nods to the original which kept me from getting mad at this revival. All in all, I think Warner Bros. played this smart and if you grew up with the original, I definitely say push the kids out of the way and give it a watch!
Also, I realized that I am Daffy Duck. Or he’s me, whichever combo makes the most sense and I’m not mad at that.
That’s all folks!
– Katrina Rotondo
Except P.S. If you are a millennial and didn’t realize just how bad the first movie was, critically speaking, check out the How Did This Get Made Podcast episode. I’m sure I’ll talk about this podcast later because it’s amazing, but this episode is especially fun
Katrina Rotondo 