‘Space Jam: A New Legacy’ Puts A New Spin On A Childhood Classic

Spinoffs and remakes of classics don’t always do well, but after seeing Space Jam: A New Legacy, perhaps things are changing. As a ‘90s kid who grew up with the original Space Jam, I was initially apprehensive about a new film coming out to continue the iconic legacy of the franchise. The first time I watched Space Jam was when it came out on VHS (again, I grew up in the ‘90s), and I watched it about three times in a row. I thought it was one of the coolest movies I’d ever seen. So could another star athlete possibly top Michael Jordan’s performance and rescue the Looney Tunes from impending doom? Maybe.

Watching LeBron James ascend the throne was entertaining. He’s one of those rare athletes that doesn’t stink at acting. His performance was convincing and the angle the new film took as far as being modernized and tailored for a new generation was delivered well. The plot, new characters, and animation were chill. And the unexpected and surprising cameos that took place were a nice touch too. In Space Jam: A New Legacy, LeBron James (who plays himself) wants his youngest son Dom to follow in his footsteps as a basketball player. However, Dom has dreams of his own: developing video games. Though LeBron supports his son’s love of the gaming world, he’s adamant about having him attend basketball camp and becoming a great athlete. As the two bump heads, they end up in a virtual world called the Serververse where a villain named Al-G traps them both and plans to hold Dom hostage there unless LeBron assembles a basketball team to challenge Al-G’s team in his game. LeBron eventually meets and gathers up the Looney Tune gang for this exciting event, and if you want to know how things end, go see the film for yourself.

Before seeing the new film, I’d heard bad reviews and listened as some people said it was corny and others who shared they wouldn’t support it at all. But I went in with an open mind. Surely it would be foolish to compare the ‘90s version of Space Jam to the new one that’s out now. Many things have drastically changed, but the same messages and themes from both films remain the same: family, friendship, and the benefits of teamwork. Who wouldn’t want to see a nice film with those traits? While classics will always remain classics, there’s nothing wrong with giving something new a chance. I’m just saying.