★★★★

director: Malcolm D. Lee (girls trip)

lebron james, dom james, don cheadle and zendaya

REVIEWER: lyall carter

A rogue artificial intelligence kidnaps the son of famed basketball player LeBron James, who then has to work with Bugs Bunny to win a basketball game.

As a 90’s kid one of the childhood defining films was the Michael Jordan and Bugs Bunny helmed Space Jam. It had everything that was wonderful about the 90’s - Michael Jordan and the NBA in its prime, a scene stealing Bill Murray and the ripper of a soundtrack featuring none other than Seal, R Kelly and D’Angelo.

So it was with trepidation that I went to Space Jam: A New Legacy hoping beyond hope that it wouldn’t mess with my childhood and or be a mess of a film. I couldn’t have been more wrong. Space Jam: A New Legacy isn’t just a nostalgic ride but a film with real heart, sure fire humour and of course a lot of hoops. 

Superstar LeBron James and his young son, Dom, get trapped in digital space by a rogue AI. To get home safely, LeBron teams up with Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck and the rest of the Looney Tunes gang for a high-stakes basketball game against the AI's digitized champions of the court -- a powered-up roster called the Goon Squad.

Structurally, Space Jam: A New Legacy plays like the original with a famous basket baller forced into a basketball match with some goons. But this time, instead of going up against aliens, Lebron is going up against an algorithm. This update feels more appropriate to the current culture especially when it throws in Lebron’s kid making a video game into the mix.

The transition from the real world to that of the Looney Toon’s is a joy-filled, hilarious, slap-stick ride. After all these years of not seeing Looney Toon cartoons it was a fresh reminder of how wonderfully wacky and funny this type of humour can be. It wasn’t just a nostalgic trip however, it was quite funny for, judging by the laughter in the cinema, adults and children alike. 

Space Jam: A New Legacy isn’t just a nostalgic ride but a film with real heart, sure fire humour and of course a lot of hoops.

★★★★