The sheer volume of major and completely unexpected events to regularly happen over the last twelve months have numbed many of us to the idea of being genuinely surprised any more, but the Pepé Le Pew discourse that surged around Space Jam: A New Legacy for about a week before fading into the ether still managed to raise a few eyebrows.
The long-awaited sequel to the beloved family film starring Michael Jordan and Bugs Bunny cut the amorous skunk’s scene almost two years ago, but when the news began recirculating it suddenly became a hot-button issue as everyone weighed in with an opinion on the matter. It was a strange time, but now that we’ve put it behind us we can look forward to the movie itself, which is coming to theaters and HBO Max on July 16th and finally has a trailer to call its own.
Those wearing the rose-tinted glasses of nostalgia might not want to hear this, but the first Space Jam isn’t a very good film. It’s diverting and entertaining, sure, but its flaws vastly outnumber its successes. Director Malcolm D. Lee and LeBron James will be looking to avoid those pitfalls, though, and it helps that any narrative issues can be overcome by the splashy visuals, with the sequel reportedly setting Warner Bros. back a hefty $160 million.
Based on the first trailer, Space Jam: A New Legacy delivers exactly what was promised, bringing us an update on the formula that worked for the first outing, but giving it a modern CGI polish and an added layer of self-referential humor. James already looks to be offering a much better performance than his predecessor did, but we’ll have to wait and see if the final product manages to live up to the sum of its parts.