A
childhood fantasy: to play in the NBA. The way this movie
portrayed one of the most wonderful, heart-warming dreams was
almost inspiring in itself. I smiled at it, and I think
everyone else who sees it will too. This isn't a masterful
flick by any means, but the fun and interesting material that
it portrays makes it essential. The sense of fulfilling
accomplishment is enough. This feature was an extravagant ride
of pure hope and excitement.
I will
admit that Lil' Bow Wow has extreme potential in acting. He
was good here, except for the slight slipping out of character
every now and then. But overall, his performance was solid;
and the casting director made the right choice. He fit the
stereotype for the character "Calvin Cambridge". All of the
actors as a whole were good, but not necessarily great. The
roles could've been much improved, but they served the
purposes of this movie very well.
I could
predict this one from the first five minutes of film shown,
but for once, this didn't madden me. The predictability was in
a way the, stories charm; it wouldn't have been the same
without it. If they had changed the plot one bit it would've
taken away from the happiness and excitement, and the
wonderful feeling possessed by the end. I loved the screenplay
for Like Mike,
unlike most other critics.
I like
how the director posed the different shots in the film. There
were little tricks encased by the view of the camera that
meant a lot to the story, but they weren't necessarily hard to
pick up on. He had such a harmonic way of bringing things into
view with his direction. It helped me set my perspective on
the entire motion picture. I liked the sequential repeats of
elements in the flick that kids can pick up on and feel good
about. This movie is one of the easiest for kids to understand
from a theatrical aspect.
There
were two shots that I admired the most. One was of Calvin
running around everywhere in a hotel room in absolute craze.
The way the pace changed so frequently upon the video was
excellent. One minute, the film is going so fast you can't
even see, and the other, it is so slow it makes you feel
tired! This is not a bad thing in any way; I enjoyed it. The
second shot I adored was when Calvin jumped up out of nowhere
on the basketball court and dunked the ball. In the credits,
they show how its done. They posed him on a blue screen, he
jumped onto a giant trampoline and he slam dunked onto a bare
wall. The finished version looked incredibly real (aside from
the fact that it would be impossible to do in reality.)
In
conclusion, Like Mike is a warm, exciting ride. I
enjoyed it, as all members of a family will. You will adore a
series of jokes about an orphan's point of view on room
service; I found them to be exceptionally hilarious. Any
children that even remotely follow basketball will love this
even more, too. It is a must see, whether in theatres or on
DVD/Video. Like Mike is a cute version of an emotional
roller coaster through stardom.
-Danny,
Bucket Reviews