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AIR
(Amazon Studios/Skydance Productions)
By Lucas Allen
Before Kobe Bryant and LeBron James, there was Michael Jordan, who became the face of the NBA both for his extraordinary talent and his famous Air Jordans from Nike. Rather than tell the story of his early years with the Chicago Bulls, acclaimed director Ben Affleck instead wants to tell a story of one company’s ascent to basketball shoe dominance thanks to the making of their famous shoe. With “AIR,” it’s the story of how one famous athlete and his namesake footwear forever changed the industry.
In 1984, Nike is struggling to compete with Adidas and Converse in both shoe sales and signing professional athletes as their spokespeople. Ambitious marketing executive Sonny Vaccaro (Matt Damon) gets the idea of signing rookie talent Michael Jordan thanks to his impressive skills on the college basketball court. Unfortunately, CEO Phil Knight (Affleck) assures him that he’s too expensive with the company struggling and is close to wanting to go with Adidas. Vaccaro decides to risk his career and the company itself by flying to North Carolina to talk with Jordan’s parents Deloris (Viola Davis) and James (Julius Tennon). This naturally upsets the star player’s agent David Falk (Chris Messina), who believes this will backfire.
To try to impress the Jordans, Vaccaro and fellow executive Rob Strasser (Jason Bateman) plus shoe designer Peter Moore (Matthew Maher) come up with a new shoe that best represents the star player himself. It’s not long before they come up with Air Jordan and the risks that surely follow. Once the big meeting with Michael and his parents comes, everything is on the line for this one shoe.
First and foremost, this is not the kind of sports movie where the sport itself becomes the center. Instead, it’s about a company of people and how they want to treat the superstars for their needs. That’s why there’s bound to be a lot of talky scenes though the script has enough sharp dialogue scenes to keep the film from feeling bogged down. However, you won’t feel any suspense until the third act, no matter whether or not you already know the outcome of this story.
It’s very difficult to pinpoint what this movie did right and what it did wrong in how it presents its story. For one thing, it has a very straightforward narrative for those who understand basketball and/or corporate marketing, so this movie does have a core audience for that. On the other hand, it goes a little overboard on its 1984 references, between the opening title montage and the abundance of hit songs of the time for the soundtrack. Although it stays majorly focused on the plot, the references can get tiring after a while.
As for how it presents its real-life athlete, it’s fairly well-done. In fact, they made sure to be respectful to Jordan by having an actor play him, but never show his face. The weirdest part, however, happens towards the end where one of the characters gives a speech to Jordan about having his life changed, and it shows some sort of flash-forward montage about Michael’s real-life events on-and-off the court. It’s such a bizarre moment in this otherwise nicely told true story it’s next-level wild.
Much like his other films, Affleck works well in-front and behind the camera, especially with other actors. He along with the always-reliable Damon have sizzling banter back-and-forth between each other that comes off as natural for the both of them. Davis brings heart and soul to this film in another fantastic performance, while Bateman and Messina both earn big laughs in their comedic performances. There’s also some noteworthy appearances by Chris Tucker and Marlon Wayans in smaller roles, but they both get to shine a bit as well.
For what it’s worth, “AIR” once again shows Affleck’s confidence in the director’s chair. While not as great as “The Town” or “Argo,” you have to respect his commitment in telling a good story on screen with all the tricks he has learned from other directors. It’s best to view this film as a basketball film for the fans with all the talk and less courtside action.
THE MOVIE’S RATING: R (for language throughout)
THE CRITIC’S RATING: 3 Stars (Out of Four)
