why the negativity?

Rating: 8/10 (13 November 2008)

Michael Jordan is sucked into Looney Tune land to help Bugs Bunny and co win a basketball game against 5 aliens who will make them slaves if they lose.
The Looney Tunes are a great creation. The wackiness and imagination behind each character is a simple bliss. And each character is brought to the big screen in this sports comedy which has received disappointing reviews. It is a wonder why this film is looked at negatively considering that it is funny and is ultimately light hearted entertainment.
With one of the best positive songs to ever open a film, Space Jam dives deep into one of basketball's all time greats in Michael Jordan.
As the title song by Quad City DJ pounds out "Welcome to the Space Jam, alright!" we are immediately uplifted and shown numerous pictures from Jordan's life as a basketball player, giving the audience a reflection on the passage to stardom. Sweet, if somewhat cliché inspirational.
After Jordan declares he is to leave basketball to become a baseball player we are taken to a typically evil setting, a theme park run by Danny De Vito's Mr Swackhammer, that ugly looking animated evil genius.
And then the real fun begins as we see comparisons from real life to fantasy and a charm and sweetness about the extraordinary is encoded to give a feel of light-heartedness.
Ultimately Space Jam is actually really funny because it is so silly. There is little realism with just in time situations and how humans actually get into Looney Tune land, but is this a film to give explanation to anything? No. This 1996 Pytka picture is about entertaining the whole family and it does just that.
This is a film anyone from the family can sit back and enjoy. The likability of the Looney Tunes will make children laugh, especially the slapstick humour. The basketball players who lose their talents are great viewing for the elder viewers, pure real life styled comedy.
The acting from everyone, especially Jordan is poor. Bill Murray (Lost in Translation) is in a small role and as always is great to watch.
The music from this picture is outstanding, perfectly fitting to the narrative. From the opening song to Seal's "Fly like an eagle" we are given perfect harmony. Not to forget R Kelly's I believe I can fly which speaks for itself.
The plot is always entertaining and equally predictable. However the comedy, the likability and relaxation of the film is good enough reason to sit back and enjoy