Al-G Rhythm

Al-G Rhythm is the main antagonist of the 2021 Warner Bros. hybrid film Space Jam: A New Legacy, the stand-alone sequel to the 1996 classic film Space Jam.

He is a malicious and deceitful computer algorithm who rules the Serververse, a virtual reality in the cyber space which houses different worlds based on Warner Bros. properties. When he kidnaps Dominic "Dom" James, the son of LeBron James, he forces LeBron to play a basketball game with the Looney Tunes against the Goon Squad.

Biography[]

Past[]

Sometime before the events of the film and after the original film, Al-G confronted the Looney Tunes on Tune World. Wanting to separate them in case they get in the way of his future goals, he offers them the chance to explore different worlds in the Serververse. All of the Tunes, except for Bugs, are excited and accept it. They then leave Tune World in a rocket and ignore Bugs as he attempts to convince them to stay. He then watches in sadness as they leave.

Space Jam: A New Legacy[]

In the film, Al-G becomes self-aware of his nature as an artificial intelligence and desires for recognition from the world. He plans to team up with LeBron James and show his technology, Warner 3000, a state-of-the-art product of Warner Bros. Studios that places celebrities in popular Warner Bros. Movies, to the public in order to achieve this goal. During the trip to the studios, LeBron rejects the idea of joining Warner 3000, seeing it as a detriment to his basketball career. Furious at being rejected and humiliated, Al-G lures Lebron's son Dom to the server room, where LeBron follows him. Then Al-G kidnaps both of them to the Serververse. Holding Dom captive, Al-G mask a deal with Lebron of playing a basketball game, and if he loses the game he will be forced to stay in there forever. Al-G has his assistant Pete to send LeBron to the Tune World.

LeBron then meets Bugs Bunny, the only remaining resident of the world. Bugs revealed that Al-G took all of his friends away to the other worlds. LeBron then started his journey of finding Bugs' friends, such as Daffy Duck, Yosemite Sam, Wile E. Coyote etc. which also involved with stealing Marvin the Martian's spaceship to travel around the Serververse.

Meanwhile, Rhythm manipulates Dom into turning against his own father by creating the Goon Squad and upgrading himself as an unstoppable basketball player.

LeBron and Bugs successfully find their friends and assemble the Tune Squad. Despite Bugs' objections, LeBron insists on teaching them the fundamentals of basketball. The Tune Squad then meet Al-G and the Goon Squad, led by Dom, to further the stakes, Al-G livestreams the game and abducted the countless viewers into the virtual world, which included LeBron's family, and if they lose the game, the viewers will get to stay in here forever with the Tunes being deleted permanently. As Dom appears, LeBron tries to warn him that AL-G is lying to him, but Dom refuses to believe him, thinking AL-G Rhythm is his friend, as AL-G manipulates him again how LeBron still doesn't appreciate him as a basketball player now.

As the Goon Squad dominate the first half of the game, LeBron and his friends start planning a way to beat them. At one point, Sylvester suggested to recruit the former member Michael Jordan (the protagonist of the first film); however, it turns out he got Michael B. Jordan instead of the player. Although, Sylvester states that it’s been 25 years and he thought Michael Jordan aged gracefully. Realizing his mistake, LeBron allows Bugs to devise the strategy of using cartoon physics in the second half of the game. As the Looney Tunes gained the upper hand, LeBron eventually apologizes to Dom for interfering with his dreams, and Dom forgives his father by joining the Tune Squad and after finding out his dad was right about AL-G Rhythm when he berated Dom for failing to get more points, selfishly saying that being himself was a mistake and finally seeing now that AL-G was never his friend and that he only cares about himself.

Angry and disappointed by Dom's betrayal and abandonment, Al-G takes control of the game and turns himself into a 10 ft. basketball player ready to defeat the Toon Squad in the final seconds. During the third half Lola scores a point but AL-G cheats by taking two points away. Not letting the Tunes win at all by any means necessary. Dom then realizes the only way to win the game and defeating Al-G is to use the move that LeBron had done in his video game which caused it to glitch out. With the cost of being erased, LeBron proposed to do it, but instead Bugs sacrificed himself to do the move and weakened the Goon Squad.

In the last stand and with seconds left, Al-G loses control of the game and desperately tries to grab LeBron and prevent him from dunking the ball, but Dom tosses an extra jump boost to his father allowing him to literally "posterize" Al-G before being shredded by Pete, deleting him and the Goon Squad once and for all.