Since the original Space Jam movie was released in 1997, it has been a flashpoint of nostalgia for any kid who grew up in the ‘90s.
So needless to say, the release of a completely new version starring LeBron James didn’t exactly go over well when the movie turned out to be even more terrible than expected.
But no one may have had as visceral of a reaction than the director of the original Space Jam who just dropped the hammer on LeBron James.
It hasn’t even been two weeks since the new Space Jam was released to the public, yet already the movie has been declared an outright failure.
In fact, based on its box office numbers so far, experts have predicted that LeBron James’ Space Jam will generate roughly half the amount of revenue that the original produced with Michael Jordan.
77% plunge for #SpaceJamANewLegacy on its 2nd FRI grossing $3.1M for 8-day total of $44.9M. Shd do $10-11M for the wknd and raise domestic #boxoffice total to $52M. Will likely end its run below the $90.4M of Jordan's #SpaceJamMovie from 1996.
— Gitesh Pandya (@GiteshPandya) July 24, 2021
In fact, LeBron’s Space Jam is already in the running for “worst movie of all-time,” according to the New York Post.
'Space Jam: A New Legacy' review: LeBron James film is an abomination https://t.co/WEKKS6P0Wt pic.twitter.com/eVd4uxcHpi
— New York Post (@nypost) July 16, 2021
Of course, there’s plenty of factors that have contributed to that, but nothing has played a higher role in its failure than the fact that LeBron James absolutely stinks.
James is as universally disliked as any star athlete in history, as his political crusades have alienated the overwhelming majority of the population.
But as far as the original director of Space Jam, Joe Pytka, is concerned, the remake’s failure is solely due to the fact that LeBron absolutely sucks as a human, and simply isn’t on the same level as Jordan.
To make matters worse, Pytka recently admitted that it took him five different viewings to make it through the two-hour remake, and believes that he’s never seen a film this atrocious.
“The truth is that LeBron ain’t Michael,” Pytka said. “I’ve worked with three people that have this magical quality that they affect people no matter what; they see them and some light goes on.”
“Michael Jordan, Michael Jackson, and Madonna. All three have this quality where people connect immediately without understanding anything about them. And nobody else has that quality,” Pytka continued. “LeBron is a fantastic basketball player, he’s a top-20 basketball player of all time. He is not Michael.”
But Pytka didn’t stop at taking that hilarious “top-20 basketball player of all-time” shot at LeBron, which you know probably upset him more than any take on his Space Jam performance could.
He even went so far as to suggest that the movie is so bad it should’ve never been called Space Jam 2 so as to not destroy the original film’s legacy.
“Maybe they should call it something else,” Pytka suggested. “They should not call it Space Jam 2, or whatever. It should be another movie. It’s not Space Jam. Space Jam is Michael Jordan. No matter how much LeBron wants to be a great player – and he is a great player – he’s not Michael Jordan. There will never be another Michael Jordan.”
Obviously, Pytka is right – LeBron isn’t Michael Jordan, and will never be able to equal Jordan on or off the court.
LeBron’s arrogance, self-absorbed delusions, and ridiculous political efforts have alienated every fan who may have rooted for him at one time or another.
While Jordan understood that “Republicans buy sneakers, too,” LeBron has taken the approach of calling the overwhelming majority of the population racist monsters.
At the end of the day, even if LeBron wasn’t an arrogant loser who’s constantly attempting to incite racial strife, he’s still a terrible actor, and his movie stinks on ice.
LeBron would have been far better served to have made an entirely different movie than the one a beloved, all-time great made a nostalgic masterpiece for most every kid who grew up in the ‘90s.
But in his arrogant quest to somehow prove he’s better than Jordan, all LeBron continues to do is prove he’s no where close.
And quite frankly, such embarrassing failures couldn’t keep happening to a better person.
Sports with Balls will keep you up-to-date on any developments to this ongoing story.