On a quiet Saturday night with nothing better to do, the family and I decided to check out Space Jam: A New Legacy.  

Now, I’m not a basketball fan.  Sure, certain players are recognisable to me – think Jordan, Barkley and Shaq for example, but in all honesty, prior to watching this, I couldn’t have told you who the hell Lebron James was.  In fact, at one stage I asked my wife if he was the one who died in the crash.  Apologies if that seems insensitive, I legitimately did not know… 

Anyway, I am a huge fan of the Looney Tunes characters.  Like, huge.  So, I was pretty happy to get stuck in to viewing this sequel/reboot of the 1996 original, Space Jam.  

It is a madcap adventure, as you can imagine, and while the entire film builds to a basketball game, one does not need to be a fan of the sport.  Actually, the entire premise could be interchanged with any sport, or competition, and it would still work.  

Perhaps they should have done just that.  I feel like a crossover with pro wrestling could be a wonderful fit for Bugs and friends – and with some huge wrestlers now making waves in film, it’s actually kind of perfect.  Just imagine Daffy matching wits with The Rock..!

Regardless, this is great fun.  Don Cheadle makes an excellent villain, and Lebron isn’t bad at all in his starring role.  The whole film is simply put, good light entertainment.  

Warner Brothers goes out of their way to showcase all of their intellectual property here too.  That does get a little annoying at times, but it works in the context.  Seeing the D.C comics rogues standing alongside Pennywise the clown in the crowd, cheering on the villainous team is entertaining at least.  

My biggest complaint is that if this is supposed renew the Looney Tunes, and bring them to a new generation, not enough time is given to them.  As an old fan, I’m in, but I’m not sure new eyes will be clamouring for more Bugs and crew.  

6/10

Shayne McGowan.