IronWatcher’s review published on Letterboxd:
Watched in the cinema (19th visit in 2021)
Let's be honest, as nice as the memories of "Space Jam" are, the film is not a good wine. It hasn't aged particularly well. But in direct comparison to the sequel, it is a little gem. For where the encounter between NBA superstar and the Looney Tunes still had clear references to the classic Warner cartoons - the story alone could have come straight from the depths of Merry Melodies - the second part is nothing more and nothing less than a lifeless and soulless commercialisation of Warner Bros. content.
The story has been neatly fluffed up and, with its father-son conflict and the villain as schemer, is strongly reminiscent of Steven Spielberg's "Hook", but while the Peter Pan sequel at least tried to accommodate its own ideas and imagination, "Space Jam: A New Legacy" refuses to embrace the concept of free-spiritedness. What the sequel serves up has nothing to do with inventiveness or imagination. It is merely overkill that never achieves the sweeping power of a "Ready Player One" of the same studio.
Indiscriminately and without a convincing narrative concept, umpteen figures are dragged in front of the camera. There are the Droogs from "Clockwork Orange" or Pennywise from "It" standing with the audience of the big endgame. Why do they do that? It doesn't have an effect. They are not the originals either, but cheap copies that presumably usually stand in front of the TCL Chinese Theatre in Los Angeles and take selfies with tourists for a small fee. The question also arises for whom they are integrated into the film? "Space Jam 2" is clearly designed for a young audience. But it is doubtful whether they can relate to the Penguin from "Batman's Return" or the aforementioned gang of raping murderers from a 70s classic.
It is also doubtful that the makers really had a solid idea. The reason for realising the sequel was probably quite simple: Part one has cult status, the popular sportsman LeBron James was up for it and the studio can promote its own content excessively. Yes, the sequel usually seems like an advertisement for the streaming service HBO Max. It never made so much sense for a Warner film to be released in parallel in US cinemas and on HBO Max. "Space Jam 2" also kind of feels like a detour to a streaming service. A film whose credo is "Content is King".
This does not even stop at the chaotic-anarchistic Looney Tunes. While in "Space Jam" they were still the relevant stars alongside Michael Jordan, in "A New Legacy" they degenerate into interchangeable mass merchandise. Mass-produced goods that are abused for the most tired gags. Every now and then the film manages to integrate Bugs, Daffy and their ilk into classics of the Warner catalogue (Will E. Coyote in "Mad Max: Fury Road" is really terrific), but most of the time it's just an uninspired chain of jokes without wit. Or does anyone else still laugh when the bullet time from "Matrix" is satirised?
Hypocritically, the Looney Tunes are dragged in front of the camera to celebrate their return. But actually they don't really matter. The only thing that matters here is firing off content every second. More and more and more. It's excessive, exhausting, annoying, stupid. A film for all those who believe that substance and content are the same thing. I'll wait for several Razzie nominations.
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