Nike celebrated the NBA All-Star weekend by releasing the full-length version of Kobe Bryant in Robert Rodriquez’ The Black Mamba a few days ago.
The almost six-minute short begins with Rodriguez pitching Kobe an idea for a film called The Black Mamba. As he explains the idea, it plays out for real complete with a Rodriguez-inspired cast including Danny Trejo and Bruce Willis, Kobe and Rodriguez poking fun at themselves, and signature over-the-top action set-pieces Nike shelled out for in exchange for killer product placement.
Ultimately Bryant finds himself up against the boss played by not Bruce Springsteen but Kayne West. The Boss wants Black Mamba’s Nike shoes and has some mutant ballers to help in swiping them. Kobe, of course, has other plans that will sent West into a cursing rant.
Though the Black Mamba short is timed with this weekend’s NBA All Star festivities that concludes with the actual game tonight, the timing is unintentionally relevant in another way. Kobe’s Los Angeles Lakers are entering the All Star break playing some of their worst hoops in the past several years, having just been beaten by the league’s worst team in the Cleveland Cavaliers. If “Legends are forever” as the closing shots of Black Mamba indicate, it’s time for Kobe to step up his game and get the Lakers back on track.
