Air: A movie review by Alex First
How do you make a compelling film when the outcome is clear for the world to see?
AIR has the answer. It is a ripper of a movie. It is fun, engaging, edge-of-your-seat fare.
It helps when you have talents like Matt Damon and Viola Davis at the core.
It means you dare not look away for a second.
We are in 1984, when Nike is known as a shoe brand synonymous with running, not basketball.
That latter is dominated by Converse and, to a lesser extent, Adidas.
Nike’s basketball division is on the brink of collapse.
Some time ago, founder and CEO Phil Knight (Ben Affleck) brought in shoe salesman Sonny Vaccaro (Matt Damon) to help change that.
So far, the move hasn’t brought results. In fact, in that regard, the company has gone backwards.
With money tight, the answers don’t seem to be forthcoming until Vaccaro pins all his hopes on a young basketball prodigy that looks like he is being signed by Adidas.
Against the better judgment of several senior Nike executives, Vaccaro makes an all of nothing play for Michael Jordan (Damian Young).
His pitch is to build a style of shoe around Jordan.
To do so, he bypasses the normal protocol, which dictates going through a target’s manager.
Instead, knowing full well that he will inflame Jordan’s go-to guy, David Falk (Chris Messina), he appeals directly to Jordan’s parents.
In this case, it is Jordan’s down to earth mother Deloris (Viola Davis) pulling the strings.
But to get a deal done, Vaccaro and Knight will have to reinvent the rulebook.
Heavily conversation driven, the script by Alex Convery hits the mark. The characters have been neatly crafted, each with their own peccadillos.
Director Ben Affleck builds an entertaining picture, driven by scenes of high drama and comedy.
A big part of that is taking the mickey out of his own character, the head of Nike.
An unforgettable sequence is the invective laden response when Falk discovers Vaccaro has gone behind his back.
Overall, Messina milks the arrogance inherent in his role, knowing he holds all the cards … until he doesn’t.
In a bravura showing, Damon is utterly convincing as a driven and passionate salesman of integrity.
Davis brings a measured dignity to her portrayal of the wily Deloris Jordan.
There’s a glint in Julius Tenon’s eyes as her husband James.
Jason Bateman brings sensitivity to Nike marketing executive Rob Strasser.
Matthew Maher is nothing if not quirky as shoe designer Peter Moore.
Despite the good nature of his persona, I struggled to understand Chris Tucker as fast-talking Nike heavyweight Howard White.
Even though this is ultimately a movie about how Michael Jordan ended up making his hundreds of millions of dollars each year, we don’t see his face.
Affleck decided to shoot him (or, at least the actor playing him) from behind in the few scenes he is in.
File footage of the real Jordan speaking is saved for the final credits.
Because of the film’s focus on “getting the deal done”, Affleck’s approach works.
While not everything lands, the vast majority of the time AIR delivers – scoring basket are basket.
Like in Jordon himself, there is greatness inherent in what is on screen.
Rated M, AIR scores an 8 out of 10. Runtime -112 minutes
