Had Space Jam: A New Legacy not been available to watch at home on HBO Max, I don’t know if I would’ve seen it. Maybe I would have, however, because it’s arguably a “sports movie” starring LeBron James and I could justify reviewing it for Awful Announcing.

Hey, that’s exactly what I did:

“Sure, perhaps the original Space Jam is viewed affectionately through a nostalgia lens and a sequel couldn’t compete with those memories. But the first movie was fun in a way the new version isn’t. Jordan knew what kind of movie he was in and went along with it. He allowed himself to be goofy and for wacky things to happen to him. To put it in Bugs Bunny’s words, Jordan was “looney.”

LeBron never lets himself go to embrace the spirit of the movie, even when he becomes a cartoon alongside Bugs. He looks like this is an obligation for him, as if he should be in a new Space Jam as this generation’s biggest basketball star.“

Social media reply guys jumped on me after the review posted for saying LeBron was “surprisingly unlikable” in the headline, complaining that he’s obviously unlikable in real life.

Maybe that’s a widely held opinion, though not one I agree with. My point was that the script requires him to be a strict father at first, but part of his character’s journey is to realize that mistake. Yet LeBron doesn’t believable make that transition. Just the sort of nuance that can be discussed with people filling my Twitter mentions to argue that LeBron is some left-wing zealot.

But I suppose I should be grateful, since the traffic numbers on that review are very good. As the underappreciated musical genius Cliff Poncier said in Singles, “This negative energy just makes me stronger.”

Please read the full review at Awful Announcing.