Movie Review: ‘Space Jam: A New Legacy’ updated version only okay

By Matt Pascarella

Runtime: 1 hour 55 minutes

Rated PG

In 1996, the Tune Squad went head-to-head against the MonStars with the help of Michael Jordan, to give his friends their talents back. Now, twenty-five years later, the Tune Squad is back with the help of LeBron James. They hit the court against the Goon Squad to save James’ son from being trapped in the Warner Brothers Serververse and to save the Tunes from being deleted.

This version contains many elements of its predecessor, but while funny in some spots, doesn’t pack the same punch as the original. This movie is available in theaters and streaming on HBO Max starring LeBron James, Don Cheadle, Cedric Joe, Sonequa Martin-Green, Sue Bird, Anthony Davis, Draymond Green, Damian Lillard, Klay Thompson and Nneka Ogwumike.

We begin in 1998 in Akron, Ohio where a young James plays in a school basketball game. Afterwards, his coach tells him you cannot be great without putting in the work. Fast forward to James passing on that same lesson on to his kids. One of his sons, Dom (Joe) isn’t that interested in basketball. He’s more interested in videogames and even designed one of his own.

After a meeting with some Warner Brothers executives, James and Dom get trapped in the Warner Brothers Serververse by Al G. Rhythm (Cheadle). Rhythm sends James to the Tune World after making a deal with James that if he wins a basketball game, he and his son can leave the Serververse. If he loses, his son has to stay. Rhythm takes Dom and gives James 24 hours to assemble a team who are the Looney Tunes squad.

No disrespect to King James, but for large parts of the movie I was waiting for Michael Jordan to step in. There’s even a scene referencing that happening. A lot of the jokes, like anvils, fake tunnels, and dynamite, are very similar to what you would see in a Looney Tunes cartoon, or even in the first “Space Jam.”

I did like the game that took place in the Warner Brothers serververse, which was a multiverse featuring characters from a variety of Warner Brothers movies and television shows crowded around to watch the game. I spotted Gremlins, King Kong, Flintstones and “Game of Thrones” characters, just to name a few. I wish more of them could have interacted with the Tune Squad.

I had little to no expectations going into this and thought Lebron James was a good choice for a sequel. I did not think this was as good as the first. I think overall this was an okay movie with funny lines and lots of callbacks to the first one. To its credit, it does have a nice lesson of the importance of family and doing what you like, instead of trying to please others. There were some very cool special effects as well as one of my favorite things, cameos. I liked Don Cheadle as the bad guy; he did a great job. I would recommend you watch Jordan’s “Space Jam” in addition to this one. One basketball up.  <

Review: ESPN’s ‘The Last Dance’ gives a glimpse into what it was to be ‘like Mike’

By Matt Pascarella

He is arguably the greatest basketball player to have ever played the game. “The Last Dance” follows Michael Jordan’s 1997-1998 season on the court. I’m late to the game in watching ESPN’s 10-part series, released last year and now on Netflix, but you don’t have to be a fan of basketball to enjoy it. It’s about one man’s strength, determination and drive to be the best.

It’s 1984. And a 23-year-old from the University of North Carolina, who had strived to be the very best and pushed himself to do so from the start, is drafted by the Chicago Bulls. That man would go on to win the Bulls six NBA championship titles, multiple MVP awards and was part of the 1992 Dream Team -  the men’s Olympic basketball team which earned the United States gold against Croatia in the summer Olympics.

From start to finish, this series is a summary of some of Jordan’s best moments on the court. It shows the many sides of Jordan and attempts to explain what it meant to ‘be like Mike.’ It features exclusive interviews, past and present, from owners, managers, coaches and teammates, as well as the man himself.

The series juts back and forth to multiple spots in Jordan’s career, all the while telling his story. It begins by following a bit of Jordan’s career history, then moves on to tell his teammate’s stories, starting with Scottie Pippen, then Dennis Rodman and onto others. It explains how these individuals related to Jordan and how they each worked together. It features great archival television footage from the 1990s of Jordan at his best. You also get a bit of a peak behind the curtain as to what it really was to be ‘like Mike.’

During the time that Jordan was at the height of his career, I was younger and more focused on baseball, but I’m sure I was aware of who Michael Jordan was. So now – a little older – to hear Jordan’s story from a variety of different individuals, is thought-provoking. I found Jordan’s motivation and drive to be the best, inspiring.

This series is incredibly captivating. So much so that I almost couldn’t look away and binged it in three days. The series gives good insight as to what it was like to work with, play with and be, arguably of course, the best basketball player of all time.

While watching the archival footage of the games, accompanied by a fantastic soundtrack featuring everyone from Jay-Z to The Beastie Boys to Queen, seeing the behind-the-scenes interviews, hearing the announcers along with game highlights, you are pretty effectively transported back to the 1990s, watching Jordan and the Bulls go for their NBA championship wins.

I would highly recommend this series, though you don’t have to watch it in three days, once you start ... you may want to. <