Like Mike will most likely be a charmer for kids between the ages of five and ten, to which this movie is naturally targeted towards. As someone speaking well outside of that demographic, it's a tiresome hour and a half. Considering all the refreshing films aimed at this sort of demographic, both live action and animated, to have children suspend reality and pause the real world for Like Mike is an unnecessary move.Is the film harmful? Not in the slightest. To its respect, it is genial and kind, throughout most of its runtime (Despite the total 180 the film takes in a scene where a goon threatens to burn a young kid's only picture of his biological family if he doesn't confess to where Calvin's sneakers are at). But is it particularly ideal for a growing child? I don't believe so. The film treats the real world as if clichés are part of life and how quickly a wholesome story gets opted for one of almost no realism beyond the character's names. If that's what you're looking for, pay no mind to me.The story centers around Calvin Coolidge (Lil' Bow Wow), a young orphan who comes in contact with a magical pair of Nike sneakers with the ambiguous initials "MJ" on them. Well, the only "MJ" Calvin knows is Michael Jordan, Chicago Bulls all-star, so that's who it must be. We never do get a straight answer, but I guess a clever assumption is good enough.Calvin realizes that whenever he puts on the shoes, he becomes amazing at basketball. In a very contrived scene where Calvin's ticket number is called when he is lucky enough to go to a basketball game, he winds up beating the own player at his game by scoring three shots on the man.So, he becomes contracted to the Minnesota Timberwolves and starts to befriend their player, Tracy Reynolds (Morris Chestnut), who clearly doesn't want to be befriended. He is an introverted soul, who loves random hookups and hates the thought of seeing any member of his family again, let alone starting his own. When Calvin, Tracy, and the rest of the Timberwolves are not on the court, Calvin tries to get direct access to Tracy's heart.The idea of a young orphan becoming a sports star just because of a pair of sneakers is a little more than far-fetched. I suppose it's an ode to those Nike ads from back in the day that if unsuspecting young-ins bought clothing endorsed by this sports star they would be able to play like that specific star. Speaking of ads, don't even get me started on the shameless way this film is acting as a vehicle for the NBA.We end on a schmaltzy cookie-cutter note and learn next to nothing throughout this whole experience. Like Mike is a child's fantasy come to life, from what I can assume. Personally, I' d rather see my child act out his own unique fantasies than pay money to see Hollywood's take on them. Seems a lot healthier for the both of us.Starring: Lil' Bow Wow, Jonathan Lipnicki, Morris Chestnut, Robert Forster, Crispin Glover, and Eugene Levy. Directed by: John Schultz.

I just watched it. Fresh and entertaining it had magic, good acting, good story, happy ending. If you're a sports fan and who isn't you will like it. I wonder if Jack Nicholson liked it. I'll bet a grand that he did. It is a great kid's story and appealed to the kid in me. I'm 60 and I'm still kicking. If you like stories with children at the center like The Bells of St. Mary's with Bing Crosby and Ingrid Bergman you will like this. It is not another dull adult comedy that will bore everyone. Where there is hope you will find kids because they are our hope. This one is much better than the movie with Shack as the genie. The movie was perfect in every way or I wouldn't have given it an 8. Enjoy it as much as I did. I'm getting a copy of it as soon as I find it. It is really a 7 or 8 and nothing less. Don't let the 4 or 5 fool you.

Like Mike is one of the worst movies I have ever seen. The plot in particular is awful.OK, let me explain the plot of this awful movie. An orphan, played by Lil Bow Wow, finds a pair of shoes that used to belong to Michael Jordan. The shoes git hit by lightning and whenever this kid wears them he has the abilities of Michael Jordan. Yeagh.............. So then the plot is pretty predictable, he plays great, makes an NBA Team, and helps a bad team to a better record.The plot is just so illogical. Most sports movies are about underdogs that work hard to get better. The whole Idea of a kid finding shoes that make him better and that is the ONLY reason for him to play good just bugs me. Another thing I have an issue with is how good the shoes make this kid. If it gave him the abilities of Michael Jordan, he would not be this good. Do not get me wrong, Jordan is great, but Jordan was not as good as this kid is by wearing the magic shoes. I mean, what type of message is this film supposed to send. Find magic shoes and it will help you to succeed in the NBA. Stupid.Also I really do not like Lil Bow Wow all that much. I mean just look at his name. It sounds like a dogs name.The ending is predictable and terrible. After his shoes break in the last game of the year, he quits after the game even though the team made the playoffs? So basically he is admitting he is nothing without the shoes, which is what he is. I just hate the plot SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO much. Stupid magic shoes. And he never really tells any of the players why he can not play in the playoffs. They do not even care. Horrible.Do not watch this film. Ever.

Like Mike is a quite formulaic and cheesy family movie about an outsider who is having dreams of becoming somebody famous and of course his dreams come true. Our hero, Calvin Cambridge, (played by Lil Bow Wow) lives in an orphanage in Los-Angeles, near basketball stadium where his favorite NBA team – L.A. Knights plays (by the way fictitious team, real teams in L.A. are Lakers and Clippers). He also loves to play basketball very much and l this game is the only sweet thing that he got in his miserable life in an orphanage. But he is just an ordinary thirteen or fourteen year boy without any special talent for playing his favorite game. One day his finds old sneakers, which are supposed to belong before to some famous basketball player and he believes that was legendary Michael Jordan. After a short confrontation with his rival those sneakers get stuck on a power line and when Calvin is trying to get them back the lightning hits near him and he is shocked by power line. Soon he realizes that his shoes are magic and they give him extraordinary abilities for playing basketball and he wins an exhibition match against real NBA star. There is nothing surprising that after such win he become a player of his favorite team Knights and his life is going to change. The magic promised in the beginning of the story is gone within few minutes and we just see how young celebrity is trying to get into contact with his new partners and fragments of NBA matches with our hero who easily become one of the best players in the whole league and jumps like a … well I don't know exactly like what but one is obvious that he beat some records with his jumps. So Calvin became a NBA player and a celebrity but somehow he has no contract and he still has no any money. Sense of reality is obviously completely lost here. Numerous and mostly silly appearances of actual NBA stars throughout the movie (though some basketball fans obviously would like that), with mentioned scenes of basketball matches and inside the team scenes make that some parts of the movie look like a some kind of silly NBA promotion. And all those basketball elements of the story most of the time easily overshadow all possible morale messages in Like Mike. Well, I believe I have paid enough attention to the movie plot and negative elements and flaws. Despite all above mentioned besides its primitiveness Like Mike is a harmless movie (today that already means something) and not so rude, compared to some recent family friendly movies. The acting is mainly mediocre (the bad guy was really pathetic) with Morris Chestnut (as Tracey Reynolds) as the only bright spot. The chemistry between his character and Lil Bow Wow (who also in some moments shows some acting abilities) is one of a few really decent moments about Like Mike. In the conclusion if you are looking for a good family movie I would rather recommend to find something else than Like Mike, though some kids might like it, particularly die-hard basketball fans.My grade 5 out of 10.