Space Jam: A New Legacy has officially released today, hitting theaters and HBO Max simultaneously. Reviews for the reboot, which now sees LeBron James putting together a team of Looney Tunes for a game of basketball, are out and critics aren't all that impressed with the effort.
Space Jam: A New Legacy currently sits at a lackluster 35% on Rotten Tomatoes with 107 reviews counted thus far. The critical consensus reads: "Despite LeBron James' best efforts to make a winning team out of the Tune Squad, Space Jam: A New Legacy trades the zany, meta humor of its predecessor for a shameless, tired exercise in IP-driven branding."
If there's one major theme amongst all the reviews it's that Space Jam: A New Legacy feels like one big plug for the various Warner Bros. properties. And that makes sense when you consider the overall plot of the film, which sees LeBron James and his son get sucked into the Warner Bros. servers, a digital space that's being run by a rogue A.I. To escape and safely return home, James must put together a basketball team and defeat the Goon Squad, a powered-up roster of digitized professional basketball stars. While the concept still largely revolves the Looney Tunes playing alongside a basketball icon, it's clear the modernization of A New Legacy didn't quite resonate.
The Los Angeles Times calls it a "CGI mess" while Entertainment Weekly calls the reboot "exhausting." Here are some other highlights from critics on Rotten Tomatoes:
Crooked Marquee - D
A Warner Bros. Studio Store in movie form - and equally as bankrupt -Space Jam: A New Legacy doesn't so much celebrate the historic brand's legacy as it exploits it.
Flixist.com - 5.7/10
Space Jam: A New Legacy is anything but new as it rehashes the original film's storyline and pulls half its jokes from WB references.
EmpireMagazine - 2/5
Despite some dazzling animation, this is a mess of celebrity and corporate cameos that fails to capture the weird spirit of the '90s original, or the '40s heyday - more 'suffering' than 'succotash'.
Polygon - No Score
Space Jam: A New Legacy is only really satisfying to people who care about marketing and company profits, people who approach it as a product that's successfully been sold.
MovieWeb - 3/5
LeBron James soars in a Looney Tunes adventure that will delight generations of fans.
While there are a few positive reviews sprinkled in, the overwhelming consensus is largely negative. That said, there seems to be some divide amongst critics and general audience as the film sits at a 77% audience score (although there are fewer than 50 verified ratings as of this writing).
It sounds like Space Jam: A New Legacy could be entertaining for kids, but the older generation who are fans of the original may not embrace it.
Welcome to the Jam! Basketball champion and global icon LeBron James goes on an epic adventure alongside timeless Tune Bugs Bunny with the animated/live-action event “Space Jam: A New Legacy,” from director Malcolm D. Lee and an innovative filmmaking team including Ryan Coogler and Maverick Carter. This transformational journey is a manic mashup of two worlds that reveals just how far some parents will go to connect with their kids. When LeBron and his young son Dom are trapped in a digital space by a rogue A.I., LeBron must get them home safe by leading Bugs, Lola Bunny and the whole gang of notoriously undisciplined Looney Tunes to victory over the A.I.’s digitized champions on the court: a powered-up roster of profes-sional basketball stars as you’ve never seen them before. It’s Tunes versus Goons in the high-est-stakes challenge of his life, that will redefine LeBron’s bond with his son and shine a light on the power of being yourself. The ready-for-action Tunes destroy convention, supercharge their unique talents and surprise even “King” James by playing the game their own way.
Space Jam: A New Legacy is now in theaters and on HBO Max. Do you plan on watching it?