IronWatcher’s review published on Letterboxd:
Watched on Netflix
We know the technique from "Who Framed Roger Rabitt" or "Cool World". The intersection of cartoon characters and real characters in a wacky adventure, mostly set in the cartoon world. The Looney Tunes are now releasing "Space Jam 2", which I will watch next Wednesday, their third film after this and "Looney Tunes: Back in Action". In 1996 they teamed up with Michael Jordan and conquered the big screen for the first time. In addition, there were a few cool commercials for the shoe manufacturer and the duo Jordan/Bunny made big money. However, "Space Jam" did not manage to break the 100 million dollar barrier at the US box office. It remains to be seen how the second part will do.
The whole film revolves (of course) around Michael Jordan, who retires from basketball and ends up playing a few more seasons. In between, there are some good old cartoon tricks and wonderful characters. Foghorn Leghorn, Tazmanian Devil ("Lemony-Fresh"), Pepe Le Pew (*stink*) or Tweety ("I tought I taw - I did! I did! I did tee Michael Jordan!") and the Roadrunner ("Beep Beep") as well as all the other crazy critters promise ingenious scenes, some of which are unfortunately a bit short. Especially during the basketball game, which lasts over 30 minutes, there are funny and beautiful animations galore. The sometimes quite anarchic joke of the Looney Tunes also breaks out from time to time, but the makers have mostly made sure that the film remains compatible with the masses.
Jordan proves that "His Royal Airness" is not an actor in practically every scene outside the basketball court. No matter, because there he has reinforcement in the form of Bill Murray (marvellous) and Wayne Knight (funny), who know how to solve this problem. Danny de Vito can unfortunately only be heard vocally. He voices the villain from outer space. The cooperation with the cartoon characters fits very well, the individual critters get their own scenes and then in the game the action definitely takes off.
What should not be forgotten about "Space Jam" are the songs. R. Kelly made his breakthrough to stardom with "I Believe I can Fly" (who would have thought back then what kind of disgusting person he is), Seal sings "Fly like an Eagle" and the "Monstars Anthem" is also performed by big names from the hip-hop scene. Very successful and worth an ear at any time.
"Space Jam" is fun. However, it is only really fun when the cartoon characters appear and really move up the gear. The individual scenes in the "real" world are not bad, but just don't have the "drive" of the animated version. The NBA basketball players can still run into doors so wonderfully.
IronWatcher liked these reviews
' ].join(''); if ( adsScript && adsScript === 'bandsintown' && adsPlatforms && ((window.isIOS && adsPlatforms.indexOf("iOS") >= 0) || (window.isAndroid && adsPlatforms.indexOf("Android") >= 0)) && adsLocations && adsMode && ( (adsMode === 'include' && adsLocations.indexOf(window.adsLocation) >= 0) || (adsMode === 'exclude' && adsLocations.indexOf(window.adsLocation) == -1) ) ) { var opts = { artist: "", song: "", adunit_id: 100005950, div_id: "cf_async_7a370b38-1c96-4034-9b9b-f7925108fa7f" }; adUnit.id = opts.div_id; if (target) { target.insertAdjacentElement('beforeend', adUnit); } else { tag.insertAdjacentElement('afterend', adUnit); } var c=function(){cf.showAsyncAd(opts)};if(typeof window.cf !== 'undefined')c();else{cf_async=!0;var r=document.createElement("script"),s=document.getElementsByTagName("script")[0];r.async=!0;r.src="//srv.tunefindforfans.com/fruits/apricots.js";r.readyState?r.onreadystatechange=function(){if("loaded"==r.readyState||"complete"==r.readyState)r.onreadystatechange=null,c()}:r.onload=c;s.parentNode.insertBefore(r,s)}; } else { adUnit.id = 'pw-7a370b38-1c96-4034-9b9b-f7925108fa7f'; adUnit.className = 'pw-div -tile300x250 -alignleft -bottommargin'; adUnit.setAttribute('data-pw-' + (renderMobile ? 'mobi' : 'desk'), 'med_rect_btf'); if (target) { target.insertAdjacentElement('beforeend', adUnit); } else { tag.insertAdjacentElement('afterend', adUnit); } window.addEventListener('DOMContentLoaded', (event) => { adUnit.insertAdjacentHTML('afterend', kicker); window.ramp.que.push(function () { window.ramp.addTag('pw-7a370b38-1c96-4034-9b9b-f7925108fa7f'); }); }, { once: true }); } } tag.remove(); })(document.getElementById('script-7a370b38-1c96-4034-9b9b-f7925108fa7f'));
' ].join(''); if ( adsScript && adsScript === 'bandsintown' && adsPlatforms && ((window.isIOS && adsPlatforms.indexOf("iOS") >= 0) || (window.isAndroid && adsPlatforms.indexOf("Android") >= 0)) && adsLocations && adsMode && ( (adsMode === 'include' && adsLocations.indexOf(window.adsLocation) >= 0) || (adsMode === 'exclude' && adsLocations.indexOf(window.adsLocation) == -1) ) ) { var opts = { artist: "", song: "", adunit_id: 100005950, div_id: "cf_async_16c775b7-4e1c-401d-b789-183886393b12" }; adUnit.id = opts.div_id; if (target) { target.insertAdjacentElement('beforeend', adUnit); } else { tag.insertAdjacentElement('afterend', adUnit); } var c=function(){cf.showAsyncAd(opts)};if(typeof window.cf !== 'undefined')c();else{cf_async=!0;var r=document.createElement("script"),s=document.getElementsByTagName("script")[0];r.async=!0;r.src="//srv.tunefindforfans.com/fruits/apricots.js";r.readyState?r.onreadystatechange=function(){if("loaded"==r.readyState||"complete"==r.readyState)r.onreadystatechange=null,c()}:r.onload=c;s.parentNode.insertBefore(r,s)}; } else { adUnit.id = 'pw-16c775b7-4e1c-401d-b789-183886393b12'; adUnit.className = 'pw-div'; adUnit.setAttribute('data-pw-' + (renderMobile ? 'mobi' : 'desk'), 'sky_btf'); if (target) { target.insertAdjacentElement('beforeend', adUnit); } else { tag.insertAdjacentElement('afterend', adUnit); } window.addEventListener('DOMContentLoaded', (event) => { adUnit.insertAdjacentHTML('afterend', kicker); window.ramp.que.push(function () { window.ramp.addTag('pw-16c775b7-4e1c-401d-b789-183886393b12'); }); }, { once: true }); } } tag.remove(); })(document.getElementById('script-16c775b7-4e1c-401d-b789-183886393b12'));
