SPACE JAM: A NEW LEGACY. A Trash Heap Instead of a Heart

I am not a die-hard fan of the first Space Jam with Michael Jordan in the lead role. Despite my genuine fondness for the film, likely fueled by having watched it multiple times at various stages of my life and always enjoying it like a kid during each viewing, I can’t shake the feeling that it was a cinematic forerunner – of course, one of many – heralding the arrival of all sorts of crossovers between beloved fictional and real-life characters. Throwing Bugs Bunny, Road Runner, and a global sports giant into one mix was clearly a blatant cash grab. Setting aside Warner Bros.’ motivations, even today you can sense a certain innocence in the production, manifested in Jordan’s charming presence on screen and the way the story is told. Watching Space Jam many years after its release still delivers simple yet universal truths, allowing people from different generations to easily enjoy the experience.

There were multiple attempts to produce a sequel to the hit movie, but it wasn’t until 2021 that the second installment premiered, this time starring LeBron James, arguably an even more talented basketball player than Jordan. A player achieving even better results in the sport, winning even more trophies, and in addition, being highly active in social and political spheres, as evidenced by his critiques of Trump and activism in the Black Lives Matter movement. Considering that James has a huge contract with Nike, promotes the NBA in China, and yet, when it comes to supporting Hong Kong in its fight against the Chinese regime, he suddenly stays silent to avoid jeopardizing his business, it becomes clear that LeBron James is the bait through which Warner Bros. can rake in massive profits from the Space Jam sequel. They likely couldn’t have made a better casting choice.

Everything in Space Jam: A New Legacy is geared toward monetizing pop culture nostalgia, emphasizing its uniqueness in the film market, offering fan-service trinkets, and delivering primitive entertainment sprinkled with digital tricks. Speaking of sincerity in the context of corporate products aimed at quick profits is, of course, naive, but during the 90-minute screening, there isn’t a single moment where a thoughtful viewer can suspend their distrust and get swept away by the adventure on screen. I don’t know how children will perceive the new Space Jam… I won’t pretend to speak for them, but for adult viewers, the experience should feel like a grueling ordeal if they approach art with a touch of criticism and don’t swallow everything like a pelican.

The Warner Bros. film isn’t made up of wild melodies but rather of worn-out clichés. When, in the opening scene, young LeBron misses a shot in the last second of a school basketball game, it’s obvious the theme will return at the climax of the story. When the scriptwriters introduce a conflict between adult LeBron and his son Dom (Cedric Joe) over the boy’s reluctance to follow in his father’s footsteps, it’s clear how that conflict will unfold. There must be a basketball showdown between different generations, this time on a digital court created by the demonic algorithm Al G Rhythm (Don Cheadle), who sucks the characters into the Warner Bros. servers and devises a plan to take control of the business. As LeBron searches for teammates, he travels through Warner Bros.’ digital worlds – one player he finds during a scene from Casablanca, while Granny is in the middle of a fight in The Matrix.

The creators throw all the studio’s flagship products into the story blender, culminating in a final game watched by even more characters who have appeared in Warner Bros. productions over the decades. Next to characters from Game of Thrones sits King Kong, and in the background, characters from A Clockwork Orange appear; it’s an absurd situation that such figures are gathered for a game held in the corporation’s glory. Kubrick is surely smiling from his grave.

Mixing everything with everything else is supposed to bring joy to the audience – after all, they’re getting a concoction of Harry Potter, Daffy Duck, and Mad Max in one movie. However, it’s hard to find a deeper meaning beyond primitive rehashing, which is likely intended to boost sales figures. If I had to propose a hypothesis, I’d treat these techniques as a vanguard of an upcoming revolution. If cowboy Yosemite Sam can replace Humphrey Bogart at the piano in Casablanca, maybe inserting a computer-generated actor with Brad Pitt’s face into a classic film could be an interesting solution? After all, that’s Al G Rhythm’s original plan – scanning LeBron’s body to insert his avatar into previously filmed movies. And if that technique is acceptable, perhaps it’s worth resurrecting Bogart to act alongside Chalamet in some neo-noir story?

In the end, the creators skillfully blur the lines between reality and the digital world, suggesting that both realms operate on different rules, which means that virtuality cannot be judged by the standards of the material world. Fiction has its own rules, so should we really be offended if a cyber-zombie with Marilyn Monroe’s face parades on screen next to Florence Pugh? Think of the possibilities, the fun!

Space Jam: A New Legacy is a completely flawed film, aimed solely at monetizing the memory of the previous installment, but in the long run, it may turn out that the solutions used in it could spark a revolution in how we think about art and how it is experienced.