5 Reasons Why You Need To Check Out Space Jam: A New Legacy

If you talk about the biggest Pop culture icons of all time, without a doubt ‘Bugs Bunny’ comes to mind. The tunes venture into live action, with 1996s ‘Space Jam’ was a pop culture revelation. The film saw ‘The Looney Tunes’ team up with basketball superstar, Michael Jordan as they took on the Monstars in the game of the decade. The film was filled with great gags, a likeable duo with Bugs and Jordan and just an all round enjoyable film. As a basketball fan, looking back at this film is just so much fun, you have some of the best NBA players of all time on-screen and a mix of colourful and creative animation and live-action. The film is a masterclass of balance. So naturally after ‘Space Jam’s success, it would make sense that Warner Bros. would want to re-visit the franchise in some capacity, and with ‘Lebron James’ now residing in Los Angeles, the stars aligned, and it was time to get working on a sequel. ‘Space Jam: A New Legacy’ is a direct sequel to the 1996 original, but updating the stakes to feel like a modern video game. After so much time, is this worth checking out? I am here to tell you, it absolutely is! Here are the 5 reasons you need to check out ‘Space Jam: A new Legacy’.

Pop Culture References – The film is filled with tonnes of references and in gags that will appease the adults, whilst the kids are dazzled by the beautiful visuals. As the tunes recruit their team, we visit some of Warner Bros. biggest ip’s including; Game of Thrones, Rick & Morty, Superman and of course Batman. These sequences are so much fun and filled with references. The game itself is populated by some of the most iconic characters in cinema history, making up the crowd. Pennywise and The Joker both have courtside seats, whilst King Kong has the best view of the entire match. It is so much fun seeing these characters on screen, even though they don’t really talk.

The Looney Tunes themselves – It has been a minute since the Looney Tunes were on the big-screen. 2003s ‘Looney Tunes: Back In Action’ was the last time we saw these loveable character son the big screen. And man oh man is it great to see them back. All the gang are here, Sylvester, Granny, Lola, Daffy and Tweety. Daffy takes up the mantle of team manager, which is great, I loved seeing Granny’s interactions with the rest of the team as well. It was just a lot of fun, even though the characters are once again voiced by different actors, the essence is still there and they still feel like these iconic characters.

Lebron James – Arguably one of the best, if not the best, player(s) of all time, Lebron James has cemented himself in the history books. In 2015s ‘Trainwreck’, James proved he has the comedic chops to star in films and he proved himself once again here, leading the Tune Squad to victory. James has great comedic timing and can also hold his own on-screen with the likes of Don Cheadle. I found James’s performance to be really enjoyable here. He also gives a lot here in terms of heart. He is quite sympathetic and grows a lot as a character which is something I wasn’t expecting from a ‘Space Jam’ film. I hope to see him in either a sequel or more projects post his playing career.

The Basketball Game Itself – This movie would not be complete without the basketball game itself. The whole movie is a lead up to the game, which takes up the whole second half of the film and it does not disappoint. The film plays with the logistics of an actual basketball game, taking a very modern, and fantastical approach to the game. Essentially Lebron’s son in the film (played by Cedric Joe), created a basketball video game that is then brought to life. The points system is insane, where points are given for ‘style’ as well as for traditional hoops. The format in which the game takes place, is a great opportunity for the studio to play with the awesome video game-style filming of this sequence. Its an absolute blast and will appease fans of the Tunes as well as basketball fans, as the villainous team is populated by NBA and WNBA stars including: Damien Lillard, Klay Thompson, Anthony Davis and Diana Taurasi.

Special Effects – One of the best aspects of the 1996 original, was the impressive blend of CGI and Live-action. This 2021 sequel/reboot follows in its predecessors footsteps, promoting impressive visual effects, that elevate the entire film. The colours all pop really well, the characters keep their classic designs, whilst also giving an extra dimension to the physicality of them as well as they are now 3-dimensional. It’s a visual splendour that is a treat for the senses. I had a great time seeing this one on the big-screen and am equally excited to check it out again on 4K UHD.

Space Jam: A New Legacy is exactly what it title suggests, a new legacy. The film pays homage and respect to the original, whilst paving the way for future Looney tunes adventures. If you are a fan of ‘The Looney Tunes’, than you are going to love it, but for general moviegoers, there is still a whole heap here to love. There’s honestly something for everyone. Be sure to pick up a copy of the film on DVD, Blu-Ray or 4K UHD from your local Sanity or online today!

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Christopher Pattison wrote this blog post for Sanity. See more from Chris here