But the movie overcomes its lack or originality in the setup by making good use of its central idea, that a pair of sneakers could make a kid into an NBA star.
In a role that could have been deadly with the wrong kind of kid actor, he's the right kind, a no-nonsense professional who wisely plays the fantasy as if it were real.Ī lot of the surrounding plot is recycled from other movies, of course, including the playground bully, the tried-and-true orphanage situations (the kids are like puppies hoping for new owners) and the last-minute, cliff-hanging plays of the big games. He is confident and relaxed on the screen, engaging, and has good moves on the basketball court. Rapper Lil' Bow Wow (who has since dropped the "Lil' ") is responsible for a lot of the movie's success. Wearing the magic sneakers, he makes Air Jordan look like a puddle jumper. The kind coach of the local NBA team ( Robert Forster) gives Calvin some tickets to a game, he ends up in a halftime shooting contest with an NBA star and, wearing the sneakers, outshoots the star so dramatically that the team owner signs him up-as a gimmick, of course, although Calvin is soon in the starting lineup and leading his team to the finals. Ox throws the sneakers so they hang by their laces from a power line, Calvin climbs up a tree in a storm to retrieve them, lightning strikes, and somehow the sneakers and the lightning magically combine to make him like Mike. His best buddy is Murph ( Jonathan Lipnicki), and his worst enemy is Ox ( Jesse Plemons). Even Space Jam was better than this.He lives in an orphanage that seems to be running as a profitable scam. Like Mike is a slight and uninventive movie: Like the exalted Michael Jordan referred to in the title, many can aspire but none can equal. Like Mike also offers us the unsettling notion of Crispin Glover as the head of an orphanage, but then underplays its hand as though the director's instructions to the actor were to “underplay” his usual bizarro mien. Parental guidance should definitely involve some kind of “Kids, don't try this at home” explanation. Zapped by a thunderbolt, the Calvin and his sneakers thereby acquire their magic powers. Civic groups have understandably taken umbrage with the PG-rated film's plot point that involves young Calvin (Bow Wow) rescuing his sneakers from where they've been tossed onto a power line in the rain. Bow Wow makes for a reasonable child star, with his expressive face and hands and boundary-straddling image that crosses over between cute and dangerous. NBA Entertainment is onboard as a producing partner, an alliance which allowed the filmmakers remarkable on-court access and action cameos by numerous NBA stars, including Allen Iverson, Alonzo Mourning, Jason Kidd, Steve Nash, David Robinson, Chris Webber, and many others. However, we thought it would be a great idea to ask Vin Diesel himself about the transformation he went through. And the film has been a huge hit in Japan, where the film is being screened in theaters. The film is essentially a showcase for Lil Bow Wow, the personable kid rapper who now wishes to drop the diminutive pup name and be known from here on as Bow Wow (a clear sign of personal maturation). By now, you’ve probably heard the news about Vin Diesel getting his first prosthetic voice in a new Transformers movie. But when the worlds of basketball and rap combine to do a pick-and-roll on the world of film, the result is this powerhouse play that has more flash than substance. Alone, this story of an orphan who comes into possession of a pair of used sneakers that bear the initials "MJ" and become the source of his new magical slam dunking powers, is a slight and maybe sweet kids story. Like Mike is an example of modern synergy, an entertainment package that bears all the markings of having been cobbled together by its various interest groups. Like Mike is precisely the kind of movie you'd expect to see if the NBA were to get into the business of producing movies, and pint-sized adolescent boys who were already mega-successful rap stars wanted to extend their reach into the almighty worlds of movies and basketball.