There’s an eye-rolling quality to the premise of “Air.” A movie about the guys who made the Air Jordan? Really? What could that possibly even be? Well, there’s a gung-ho spirit to the film, thanks to Affleck’s direction and the strengths of his cast, that make this feel like some good old-fashioned cinema.
The film follows Sonny Vaccaro, played by Matt Damon (“Good Will Hunting,” “The Bourne Identity”), a talent scout working for Nike’s ailing sports division in 1984. One day, he gets an idea: to build a shoe line entirely around one athlete, instead of inviting multiple athletes to be the face of the division. He and his team, consisting of Nike CEO Phil Knight, played by Ben Affleck (“Good Will Hunting,” “Argo”), Marketing VP Rob Strasser, played by Jason Bateman (“Arrested Development,” “Ozark”), and shoe designer Peter Moore, played by Matthew Maher (“Our Flag Means Death,” “Hello Tomorrow!”), then build a pitch to Michael Jordan, his mother Deloris, played by Viola Davis (“The Woman King,” “Widows”), and father James, played by Julius Tennon (“The Woman King”).
Yeah, its honestly not much of a premise, and on paper its easy to see it not lasting more than an hour on some CNN “History of the Decade” style documentary. But Affleck and writer Alex Convery make it work because of the heavy emphasis on Sonny and his team. By building it as a story not just about a legendary partnership, but also the underdogs who put it together and why they believed in it, it makes the film far more emotionally satisfying than it otherwise could have been.
Damon is great, channeling his talent for playing gung-ho underdogs well, delivering crackling dialogue against his supporting cast. Affleck is fairly low-key, channeling a borderline bohemian attitude to play Phil. Davis brings the same kind of gravitas that she always does, turning the dialogue into gold, and the scenes between her and Damon are the best parts of the film. The rest of the cast are all great, building up this slick 80s underdog tale well without ever overplaying the schmaltz.
Affleck’s direction is incredibly solid and harkens back to a lot of the old-school office/board room movies of the 80s and 90s. There’s not a lot of technical wizardry on display when watching two characters sit in a dimly-lit office at night, talking about a deal or life story. But, its not a lack of flair, rather a showcase of restraint. Affleck knows this story doesn’t need to be showy, and his decision to let the script and performances carry the film forward is incredibly smart.
It doesn’t mean there isn’t any flair, as his penchant for needle drops is as evident as ever, but those moments are well used, spicing up the film when necessary instead of overwhelming it. Sure, there are still moments that tumble into silliness or melodrama (“What if we call it… Air Jordan?”) but these moments are honestly rare and given the grounded nature of the overall product, its easy to roll your eyes and smile, then go right back to enjoying the tale.
“Air” is an example of some good old-fashioned movie making, low stakes and grounded, letting the performances carry the film. It’s a fantastic addition to the “dad cinema” subgenre occupied by other films like “Jerry Maguire,” “Moneyball,” and “Argo.” It’s just a really solid, entertaining, charming underdog story that’s fine being nothing more than just a really good adult-aimed drama. 4.5/5
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