Air

UK Release Date. 5 April 2023
Certification. 15
Running Time. 1 hour 51 mins
Director. Ben Affleck
Cast. Ben Affleck, Jason Bateman, Matt Damon, Viola Davis, Chris Messina, Chris Tucker, Marlon Wayans.
Rating. 61%

Review.

Air sees Ben Affleck return to directorial duties for the first time in six years (since the underwhelming Live By Night). At first glance, Air might appear to be a film about sportswear executives in an one hour 50 minutes board meeting, but at its core, the film mines all of the more dynamic conventions of a typical sports-based drama. Air is an underdog story. 

In 1984, Nike had a 15% market share and was struggling to crack the US basketball market. Nike Basketball were the meagerly funded underdogs compared to the more successful divisions of rival brands and market leaders, Adidas and Converse. Air tells the story of how Head Basketball Talent Scout, Sonny Vaccaro (Matt Damon) devises a plan to recruit up-and-coming star player, Michael Jordan. 

Air isn't a biopic about Michael Jordan, if anything it is a biopic about the jump man silhouette that is stitched into every single pair of Air Jordan shoes. It is a tale of how design, marketing and business go hand-in-hand to help transform a relatively unknown prospect into a sports icon. And despite featuring a significant amount of business and sports-related jargon, the plot is straightforward enough to be enjoyed by a wide audience.

Character development is minimal, though Air is well acted throughout. However, it is Viola Davis (as Michael Jordan's mother, Deloris Jordan) who, in a relatively limited amount of screen time, provides the film's gravitas. Davis, apparently hand-picked by Michael Jordan himself, gives a standout performance and reminds the audience, and Sonny Vaccaro, that no amount of money or flattery can overtake the basic principles of respect and courtesy. 

Juxtaposed to the Nike storyline is a fascinating tale of cultural change. When Deloris Jordan is ultimately convinced that Nike is the correct choice for Michael, she adds a bold contractual stipulation. In addition to his fee, her son will be paid a percentage of every sale of an Air Jordan shoe, anywhere in the world. She boasts, "A shoe is just a shoe until my son steps into it." The principle, of course, is that the athlete is no mere adornment for the brand but rather the prime source of the shoe's value. Her insistence ensures that the athlete is entitled to part of the wealth that they create - a game-changing deal for sports in general, not only basketball. 

Air is a somewhat superficial, but well-paced, feel-good film that subverts the traditional boardroom drama, keeping the audience entertained with a mixture of acerbic one-liners and heartfelt monologues, all interspersed with familiar 1980s nostalgia.