DVD Reviews: Like Mike

Pint sized rapper Lil Bow Wow (Calvin Cambridge) stars in this piece about a young orphan's fascination with basketball and desire to become a member of a loving family. Surrounded by a small group of friends at the orphanage, life changes drastically when he discovers a pair of Nike sneakers in a welfare bin with the initials MJ on them in faded ink.

Convinced that this great find is indeed the childhood sneakers of none other than Michael Jordan, combined with the fact that he is hit by lightning when retrieving the shoes from a phone line, Calvin suddenly displays an unnatural ability to play basketball better than anyone on the planet. A freak chance to play against one of NBA's finest arises and when he defeats him on the court, Calvin becomes an overnight sensation and is signed to the NBA!

What follows is the thrills and spills as a young man comes to terms with playing the game he loves in the biggest theatre of them all against his idols. Aside from the fact that this is clearly aimed at a younger audience, there is something in it for the entire family to enjoy as the show truly has a lot in it and is thoroughly enjoyable.

Fans of the NBA will be pleasantly surprised to see many of the current NBA lineup present in the movie in both on and off the court scenes. Although a strictly bubblegum affair in terms of plot and storyline, Like Mike is sufficient to keep you in your seat laughing along with it all the way through. The interaction between Lil Bow Wow and his adult contemporaries is truly funny and the kid makes good on his acting debut. This movie shows that he truly has talent as opposed to merely a part of this slickly produced movie. I would be very keen to see him in some more challenging roles in the future.

The transfer of the DVD is clear and crisp making the most of the format. Whilst using 5.1 surround, I did find that it was not present throughout the entire feature, however when it did kick in, it complemented the movie.

For you DVD freaks out there, you have got to take advantage of the extras on this DVD! They are all brilliant and informative but the commentary blows it all into the water in terms of sheer entertainment value. Director John, Schultz, Lil Bow Wow and Jonathan Lipnicki undertake the talking chores and I must confess that I have never heard an audio commentary being undertaken by kids. It adds an entirely different dynamic to the commentary and is a lot of fun to listen to.