Ben Affleck continues to prove that he is the closest person, past or present, with a chance (however slight) to unthrone Clint Eastwood as the greatest actor/director combo ever. It will take a herculean effort to unseat Eastwood’s five Oscar nominations for directing (wins for Unforgiven and Million Dollar Baby) to go along with over 35 other directing credits, as well as nearly 60 acting credits. Affleck, at just 50 years of age, very well could surpass Eastwood’s acting credits, but another 35 directing credits seems like a stretch. Air is Affleck’s fifth feature-length film. Three of his previous four (Gone Baby Gone, The Town, Argo) have resonated strongly with critics and audiences, while his fourth (Live By Night) wasn’t that far of a drop-off. What’s great about Affleck as a director is his drive and creativity. The staples of his directed movies are taut scripts, formidable, seasoned casts, and expert artisans (cinematographers, sound engineers, production designers) who he allows the freedom to shine. Air delivers on all fronts. It’s a movie that would be difficult not to enjoy.
It will be difficult for many movies released this year to surpass Air. Had Air received a 2022 release, and it may have been my second favorite film of the year (just behind Top Gun Maverick). But, unfortunately, the best films of the year are usually not released during the first few months of each year. And here we are in early April, and we’ve already had great movies like Creed III and John Wick: Chapter 4. While each of those movies is great, Air is even better. Filmed in a style that reminded me of The Big Short with the witty, whimsical writing of a film like The Social Network, Air is masterful storytelling presented in an intelligent, informative, and engaging way.
Though we all know at least a bit of history behind the invention of Nike’s Air Jordan basketball, I assure you that you will leave having learned many things that you previously had no idea about. Of course, I won’t give away any spoilers, but there are a ton of excellent nuggets about Nike before Jordan, during the recruitment of Jordan, and the ultimate decision by Jordan. Yes, he signed with Nike over rivals Converse and Adidas. There is so much more to the story, though.
In the mid-1980s, Magic Johnson and Larry Bird were the pillars of basketball stardom. Having played each other in the 1979 NCAA National Championship game, it seemed the duo was destined to go head-to-head and toe to toe in many professional championships after Johnson was drafted to the NBA’s most recognizable and marketable team in the Los Angeles Lakers, while Bird had been drafted to the league’s second most recognizable and marketable team in the Boston Celtics one year prior. Both superstars wore Converse and were what many who played basketball (at any level) picked as their show because they wanted to wear what either Bird or Magic wore. The other big player at the time was Adidas. It was long known that Jordan preferred to sign a shoe deal with Adidas with Converse as his backup.
Known as a running shoe company, Nike wasn’t even a contender. Nike CEO Phil Knight (Ben Affleck – The Way Back, Gone Girl) provided his basketball shoe department a $250,000 budget to sign NBA rookies. With this money, the philosophy of brand manager Howard White (Chris Tucker – Rush Hour, Rush Hour 2), marketing VP Rob Strasser (Jason Bateman – Horrible Bosses, The Gift), lead shoe designer Peter Moore (Matt Maher – Marriage Story, Gone Baby Gone), and Sonny Vaccaro (Matt Damon – The Last Duel, Stillwater), a high school, college, and professional basketball junkie and outside-of-the-box thinker. Sunny sees something in Michael Jordan that convinces him that Nike needs to put their entire budget towards signing him, even though they know Jordan’s intent to sign with one of their rival companies.
Affleck chose to keep the character playing Michael Jordan in the peripherals. We never see his face or his reactions. Mostly he shuffles around from location to location as he is being courted. Instead of Jordan on the opposite side of the negotiating table, we get his mother, Deloris (Viola Davis – Fences, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom), and father, James (Julius Tennon – The Woman King). James has a Mr. Happy Go Lucky, ‘I’m just here for the ride’ persona. He operates with the assumption that everyone is a good person and will do his son right. Deloris is the opposite. She’s weary of others but attentive at the same time. She knows her son is destined for great things and may believe this more than anyone, including Michael.
Air is the story of what the team at Nike does to build a shoe around the player rather than putting a player in one of their predefined shoes. Again, no spoilers, but Nike uses several creative tools and techniques to lure their prized recruit. But it’s a fair more personal story of Sonny’s tenacity to go after the player he wholeheartedly believes in, refusing to accept no as an answer, as well as that of Deloris, who knows that she has to wade through shark-infested water of those who are looking to capitalize off her son’s likeness. There is sincerity in these two characters that is different from everyone else’s. Everyone believes that Jordan will be unique. But Sonny and Deloris seem to know he will be much more than that. While they share just a few scenes, there is an unspoken awareness that each needs the other.
The one criticism I’ve heard is that nothing separates Air from many other biopics. It’s missing that specific “wow” moment that you’ll remember forever (like when Jesse Eisenberg portrayed Mark Zuckerberg getting grilled by those who said he stole their idea in The Social Network before saying, “You know, you don’t need a forensics team to get to the bottom of this. If you guys were the inventors of Facebook, you’d have invented Facebook,” in such a cutthroat matter that you have to pause for a second and say, “Damn! Did he just say that?” to yourself. There isn’t a moment like that or even that type of tension in Air, but that’s hardly a reason to criticize it, as that wasn’t what Affleck was aiming for. His goal was an engaging, fast-paced, and entertaining movie revolving around this aspect of the greatest basketball player, if not the greatest athlete, and how Nike’s pursuit revolutionized the entire sneaker industry.
Plot 10/10
Character Development 8.5/10
Character Chemistry 8.5/10
Acting 9/10
Screenplay 9/10
Directing 9.5/10
Cinematography 10/10 (every aspect of the film felt like the mid-1980s)
Sound 10/10 (the soundtrack of our 1980s)
Hook and Reel 10/10
Universal Relevance 10/10
94.5%
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