Do you remember being a kid in elementary school and watching the original Space Jam? I do and I remember being perplexed by the cartoon and real-life mashup while eating Cretor’s Cheese and Caramel popcorn and watching it with my brother and my grandma. When I heard the new Space Jam came out, I was excited to see it and I went to go see it with a couple of co-workers and friends.

To start with, the new Space Jam is not a continuation of the original 1996 release. It is what is classified as a movie reboot. It has its own separate story and makes minor jokes about the original release. It follows the same similar plot to the old one, where a popular NBA superstar, this time LeBron James, gets sucked into the cartoon world of the Looney Tunes. It starts deviating though because in the original Space Jam, Aliens are trying to take over the Looney Tune world and the Tunes make a deal that if they win the game they keep their world, while in the new Space Jam, the NBA superstar tries to get his kid back by winning a basketball game. This Movie is mostly aimed at kids and this is apparent from the cartoony look and just overall simplistic storyline. The storyline is very easy to follow along too and kids can easily follow it without getting very confused. Though adults still might enjoy this movie because it can be nostalgic to people who have watched the original 1996 Space Jam and makes many references to Warner Bros many other franchises such as Austin Powers and The Matrix. 

I honestly did not think the movie was that good. It was just very generic. The story only has three main parts. The part where LeBron James lost his kid (Dom), the part where he must gather enough players, and the actual game. That is all that is in the movie. The original had multiple parts. The aliens made the wager, they had to train, and the aliens sucked the power out of NBA superstars. The movie had a side plot where the NBA players try to find out what went wrong. The reboot also has a side plot where the rogue AI convinces Dom he is the good guy, but it just is not as humorous as the side plot in the original Space Jam with the funny aliens. It was just overall a better movie. Critics also seem to agree with me. IMDB, an Internet Movie Database, rated the original 1996 Space Jam a 6.5/10, while the new one got a 4.4/10. 

So do I recommend watching this movie? If you watched the original 1996 Space Jam and wanted some nostalgic feelings, or if you just want to hang out with a group of friends, then this movie is not too bad and you can watch it in theaters. If you want to watch a good movie with a good storyline, or if you are a hardcore moviegoer then this movie is not for you.