Movie Review: AIR

By ABBIE BERNSTEIN / Staff Writer

Posted: April 5th, 2023 / 02:15 PM

Rating: R
Stars: Matt Damon, Jason Bateman, Ben Affleck, Viola Davis, Chris Messina, Julius Tennon, Chris Tucker, Matthew Maher, Marlon Wayans, Damian Young
Writer: Alex Convery
Director: Ben Affleck
Distributor: Amazon Studios
Release Date: April 5, 2023 (theatrical)

It might be easier to find Bigfoot than a person in modern society who doesn’t know what an Air Jordan is. Likewise, pretty much everybody knows that Nike makes the shoe, and that it is the namesake of basketball great Michael Jordan.

All of this makes it a pleasant surprise that AIR, the dramatized story of how Nike got into business with the Jordan family, is not only entertaining but even a bit suspenseful.

AIR’s version of all this (the principals’ names are real, but who did what seems like it’s been reorganized for the screen) begins in 1984. While the Nike company is doing well with running footwear, its basketball shoe division is a woeful third behind competitors Adidas and Converse.

Nike marketing executive Sonny Vaccaro (Matt Damon), a former high school basketball coach, is responsible for finding up-and-coming talent in the sport to serve as spokesmen (pro women’s basketball doesn’t get a mention here). One big part of his problem is that Nike doesn’t want to pay top dollar, so Sonny’s options are fifth draft pick and below.

But Sonny believes he has found secret greatness in footage of rookie Jordan’s famous game-winning throw. Now Sonny just has to convince Nike co-founder and CEO Phil Knight (Ben Affleck) to support his vision, convince Jordan’s uncooperative sports agent David Falk (Chris Messina) to not actively sabotage things, and to pitch Jordan’s mother, Deloris Jordan (Viola Davis), on what the shoe can be.

Deloris, in return, has an idea of her own.

Apart from playback footage, usually shown on scratchy VHS tape, the most action we see is people jogging. Director Ben Affleck and writer Alex Convery come together to make AIR seem like it is full of motion, keeping the characters active and colorful. The filmmakers have also assembled a great ‘80s jukebox score that maintains the mood (at least, for those who can afford name-brand footwear) of the era.

The dialogue has high energy and fairly well-modulated testosterone (and a lot of strong language, which is the only reason AIR has an R rating). Sonny and his colleagues are always feeling their way around the corporate hierarchy, trying to not to get pinned to the spot. This is not GLENGARRY GLEN ROSS – we see some competitiveness, but also camaraderie and team spirit.

There is particular tension, mostly friendly, between Sonny and Phil, who came up together. Phil values Sonny, but wants to make sure that it’s understood he’s in charge. Sonny wants to prove he’s right, risking some things that aren’t really his to risk as he does so. Damon and Affleck, lifelong creative partners, bring a sense of authenticity to the decades-old relationship between Sonny and Phil.

Davis may not have as much screen time as the actors playing Nike folks, but she gives us a woman who is powerfully aware of not only her son’s worth, but her own. She speaks softly, but commands respect.

Jason Bateman provides loyal support as Sonny’s coworker Rob Strasser, Messina is wonderfully mean as the gate-keeping agent, and Matthew Maher conveys a hint of magic as shoe designer Peter Moore. Chris Tucker gets some decent comedic moments as the one black executive in the basketball shoe division, and Marlon Wayans seems sage as Sonny’s confidante.

We don’t see any women of importance to the proceedings other than Deloris Jordan. Since AIR is set in the world of men’s sports and men’s sportswear in 1984, this seems fair enough.

However, there is an existential question here, which is how and why events centered around a black superstar have been turned into a tale of a white guy.

Without tackling this meta issue, it can still be said that AIR is an enjoyable rendering of a bit of sartorial, sports and labor history.

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