Space Jam: The Next Generation (2021): What is the movie, plot, details

Oh, the imperishable classic from childhood, how they mocked you by removing this unintelligible sequel!

After watching The New Generation, I wanted to rewatch the original 1996 film with Michael Jordan and have fun, and not constantly drive away the thought: when will THIS finally end.

The project, which Malcolm D. Lee HIMSELF worked on, the director of the fifth part of “Scary Movie” (I think this automatically speaks about the quality of his “Jem”), tried to pay tribute to the old film - it came out exactly after 25 years after the release of the picture with Jordan. It contained verbal references to the project with the participation of “His Airness”, as well as a lot of references in the form of characters from other Warner Brothers projects (and not only them, because King Kong appeared in the film, which is part of Universal, but recognized as public domain).

Another highlight is Bugs Bunny's line at the end of the match: "That's it, boys." She refers to Mel Blanc, whose voice in the Looney Tunes multiverse is spoken by Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, the rooster Foghorn Leghorn, the skunk Pepe Le Pew, Porky Pig, Sylvester the cat, Tweety the chick, Willie Coyote, the mouse Speedy Gonzalez and others. And it’s precisely this phrase – “That’s it, guys” – that is engraved on the tombstone of the voice actor, who died back in 1989.

"Space jam. The New Generation”, when compared with the first film, in fact, is not much different from it. At least according to the plot idea: the main character does not get into another world of his own free will, he must win the match, otherwise the world of Looney Tunes will be destroyed, etc. Well, that is, Malcolm D. Lee didn’t really care, deciding that such a plot was possible it will be quite easy to hide behind a bright screen of modern computer graphics.

The problematic of the plot creeps out immediately and reaches its peak at the moment when the basketball game begins. There are no rules in it, and everything looks very strange, when some people mess around on the floor, while others think of it only in the second half. Everything that happens in the film is very similar to the most banal farce, which is backed up only by graphics. But here, not only the visual plays a role, but also the audio - and the soundtrack in this film is absent as a class. No drive without the music traditionally played at matches in real life, but only the sour faces of father and son who sort things out during the match…

Well, the creators didn’t really bother about who would play the main role. They just took LeBron James. And it doesn’t matter that he has trouble with acting talents, the main thing is that he is very famous! This seems to have been the main rule that guided Bron's invitation. Well, he's just no! Michael Jordan was cool - movements, facial expressions, confidence while being in the frame - he was really cool and convincing! LeBron James is just wooden to the waist and unable to show anything but throws into the basket ... The actor playing Bron's son looks no less wooden. Alas, now actors become not because of talent, but because of skin color ...

And it would be nice if the creators missed only with the leading actor, but it also turned out awkwardly with the voice actors. June Foray, who voiced a lot of cartoons, including woody woodpecker, died in 2017 at the age of 99, and after all, Granny spoke in Looney Tunes in her voice. It's okay. But why did it have to be removed from the voice acting of Lola Bunny Cat Soucie, whose voice the rabbit speaks in the first "Space Jam" and, in principle, in most cartoons where she appears ?!

And if earlier world-famous actors were involved in the voice acting of characters (for example, Danny DeVito in the first "Space Jam"), then with regard to the new film, one can only dream of this. And star cameos, with the exception of one in the locker room during a break in the match, are not here.

As far as Russian distributors are concerned, hiring the rapper L'One as the main character is also a huge stupidity. When you hear him speak, the pompous sound of words with the emphasis of “like he’s talking to a bro on the block for his life” is so sickening that, combined with James’ performance (in the film, not in basketball), it looks terrifying.

PS What really made me smile in the film was the appearance of Michael Jordan himself in the locker room and the expectation of the appearance of the legend, which was replaced by disappointment. But it's cool - here the feint with the ears of the director was a success and he was able to surprise.

The film leaves far from the best impressions. If the first film can be reviewed and enjoyed, then one viewing of this picture will be enough.

However, watch for you. I do not impose my opinion on anyone.