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Space Jam: A New Legacy (2021) was recently released on 4K UHD/Blu-ray Combo Pack by Warner Brothers. Read on to find out more about it...


[ SYNOPSIS ]

When LeBron James (playing himself) and his young son Dom (Cedric Joe) are trapped in a digital space by a rogue A.I. named Al G. Rhythm (Don Cheadle), LeBron must get them home safe by leading Bugs Bunny (voiced by Jeff Bergman), Lola Bunny (voiced by Zendaya) and the whole gang of notoriously undisciplined Looney Tunes to victory over the A.I.'s digitized champions on the court: a powered-up roster of professional basketball stars as you've never seen them before. It's the Tune Squad versus the Goon Squad in a high-stakes challenge that will redefine LeBron's bond with his son and shine a light on the power of being yourself.


[ NOT-SO-QUICK THOUGHTS ]

I always remembered the original Space Jam as being a Looney Tunes movie, but when I re-watched it a few months ago for my review of the 4K release, I came to the realization that I've been misremembering the movie all along. Looney Tunes: Back in Action it is not. It's a Michael Jordan movie that Bugs Bunny and his friends just happen to be in. It was based the Nike commercials Hare Jordan (1993) and Aerospace Jordan (1994) that paired Nike spokesman Jordan with the legendary hare. When the decision was made to turn those commercials into a feature film starring the duo, it made sense that it would involve basketball since that's what Jordan was known for. Had Bugs made those commercials with Hulk Hogan, the film would have been about wrestling.


I say all of that to make the point that the original Space Jam is very much a product of its time. The movie exists because the Nike commercials exist. It centers around basketball because the star of those Nike commercials was a basketball player. His brief foray into baseball is a part of the plot for the same reason. Space Jam: A New Legacy features a popular basketball star (LeBron James) not because he's in a series of commercials with the Looney Tunes, but simply because the original movie starred a basketball player, and LeBron is a current popular player of the sport. A New Legacy could have easily starred Dwayne Johnson and been about wrestling, which would have been more appropriate given wrestling's cartoony nature.


A New Legacy, which does NOT star Michael Jordan and has ZERO connection to the original film (aside from the toons), has no reason to exist. The irony is that the script - written by SIX people! - knows this. (It's never a good sign when it takes that many people to pen a script.) Early in the film, LeBron is taken to Warner Brothers to preview their new "Warner 3000" technology, which would allow them to digitally insert him into their movies and television shows. LeBron turns them down because he knows that it's not a good idea. Yes, A New Legacy is flat out telling the audience that the movie they're watching sucks, because the idea of inserting LeBron into other Warner properties is exactly what the film is about.


I've seen a lot of movies where you have to shut off your brain in order to enjoy them, because if you applied logic and common sense to the plot, it all falls apart or becomes extremely stupid. A New Legacy is one of the worst of that bunch. The plot is utter nonsense. We're led to believe that Warners has a large server farm (the "Warner Brothers Serververse") in their basement in which a self-aware A.I. named Al G. Rhythm (algorithm... get it?) makes all of the business decisions for the studio. Maybe it's true, as it would certainly explain the existence of this film.


We're never even told why Al G. (not to be confused with Ali G) wants LeBron James instead of any of the other more popular and influential celebrities. If, like me, you have no interest in LeBron or basketball, the first 25 minutes will be a chore to sit through, since it is ham-fisted worshiping of LeBron James. He's glorified so much, that it's nauseating. If you took a shot every time he is referred to as "King", you will be dead from alcohol poisoning before the NEARLY TWO HOUR movie is even half over. Once your pass the 25-minute mark and LeBron enters the Serververse, it becomes way more tolerable.


Inside this virtual world, LeBron must travel to planets based on different WB properties, which offers up appearances from a wide variety of unrelated characters. The plot heavily rips off the Lego Dimensions video game (which also featured Ghostbusters) and Steven Spielberg's movie Ready Player One, while the in-movie basketball game that Dom James created is heavily influenced by NBA Jam (1993). I thoroughly enjoyed the cameos - especially Alex and the Droogs from the decidedly not-kid-friendly A Clockwork Orange - and the segments placing the Looney Tunes in other Warner Brothers movies. Batman, Robin, Catwoman, and Penguin from the 1966 Batman television series are in the audience of the basketball game finale, even though the show itself is owned by 20th Century Fox (now Disney). Yes, Warner owns the characters through their ownership of DC, but we're supposed to believe that they came out of the show's universe, which would found be in the "Disney Serververse", not Warners. Oh look at that. I'm applying logic to an illogical film. Whoops!


The cast is... what it is. I have zero interest in LeBron James, though with those facial features and height, paint him green and he'd make a good Frankenstein's creature. The only member of his "family" I recognize is his "wife" played by Sonequa Martin-Green, best known for her portrayal of Sasha Williams on The Walking Dead. Steven Yeun (who played Glenn Rhee on that show) appears with Sarah Silverman as a pair of Warner Bros. Executives, which is a poor casting choice. Both Steven and Sarah are too well-known to be believable as the fictional execs. In addition to LeBron, there are other real-life basketball players in the film - Sue Bird, Anthony Davis, Draymond Green, Damian Lillard, and Klay Thompson - but I never heard of a single one of them. They could have been actors playing basketball players, and I wouldn't have known the difference.


I do recognize all of the actors who lend their voices to the Looney Tunes. Jeff Bergman takes the lead as Bugs Bunny (and Sylvester, Yosemite Sam, and a few surprise cameos). He's joined by Zendaya as Lola Bunny, taking over the role from Kath Soucie. Just like what happened with Jetsons The Movie (1990) (where the legendary Janet Waldo's dialog was replaced by pop star Tiffany), IMDB claims that Kath recorded all of her dialogue, but it was discarded in favor of Zendaya during late post-production. I don't know if that's true, but given that Zendaya is a "big name star" compared to Kath, I can believe that. Another notable semi-"big name" is Gabriel Iglesias, who voices Speedy Gonzales. Also on board is Eric Bauza as Daffy Duck, Porky Pig, and more. Candi Milo takes over Granny from the late June Foray. Bob Bergen brings life to Tweety, Fred Tatasciore is the devilish Taz, and Rosario Dawson reprises her role of Wonder Woman from Wonder Woman: Bloodlines (2019) and Reign of the Supermen (2019). Justin Roiland also has a voice role in the film, but I won't tell you as whom, as it is one of the few things I really liked about the film and don't want to spoil it for others.


I just spent several paragraphs telling you why this film sucks, but it's not all bad. The animation looks fantastic in 4K. The Looney Tunes are still awesome, and I actually didn't hate them in 3D CGI, though I prefer the 2D animated versions. Don Cheadle was a delight, chewing up the digital scenery with glee. If only he had better material to work with. Sadly, aside from a photograph during the end credits, Bill Murray isn't on hand to save this film like he did for the original.


[ SPECIFICATIONS ]

The movie is presented in a 1.85:1 aspect ratio with a runtime of 1:55:31. Audio languages include English, French, German, Spanish, Danish, Finnish, Hindi, Hungarian, Norwegian, Romanian, and Swedish. Subtitle languages include English SDH, French, German SDH, Spanish, Danish, Finnish, Greek, Hungarian, Norwegian, Romanian, and Swedish.

[ SPECIAL FEATURES ]

There are no special features on the 4K UHD disc. Here is a list of the bonus features on the included standard Blu-ray disc.

• First Quarter: Game On (7:36) - Part one of four featurettes with director Malcolm D. Lee, producer Ryan Coogler, VFX supervisor Grady Coffer, makeup department head Howard Berger, producer Maverick Carter, music supervisor Kier Lehman, several members of the cast (LeBron James, Sonequa Martin-Green, and Anthony Davis), and others talking about the production.
• Second Quarter: Teamwork (7:49) - Part two of the four featurettes.
• Third Quarter: Out of This World (8:09) - Part three of the four featurettes.
• Fourth Quarter: The Looniest (7:08) - Part four of the four featurettes.
• Deleted Scenes (7:38) - The five scenes include "Next Level", "In Cleveland", "Timeout", "Are You With Us?", and "No More Secrets".

[ SECOND DISC ]

Also included is a standard Blu-ray disc, which contains the movie and all of the special features listed above. Audio languages include English, English Descriptive, Spanish, French, and Portuguese. Subtitle languages include English SDH, Spanish, French, and Portuguese.

[ ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ]

A Digital Copy code voucher is also included in the standard two-disc black UHD Blu-ray case. The first print run includes a slipsleeve.

[ PURCHASE LINKS ]

Space Jam: A New Legacy (2021) is available on 4K UHD/Blu-ray Combo Pack, Blu-ray/DVD Combo Pack, and individual DVD. Space Jam (1996) (reviewed here) is available on 4K UHD/Blu-ray Combo Pack, individual Blu-ray, and 2-Disc Special Edition DVD. You can also buy both films together in the Space Jam 2-Film Collection Blu-ray.


All images were taken from the IMDB gallery of the film. This item has been provided by Warner Brothers for review on this site.