‘Air’ movie review: Ben Affleck shoots Matt Damon into MVP territory

Matt Damon as Sonny Vaccaro in ‘Air’ | Photo Credit: Ana Carbelosa/Prime Video

When Air was first announced, and the hype around ben affleck directing my long time friend Matt Damon died, everyone thought it was going to be a movie Nike’s Origin and Heritage. Then the chatter of a Phil Knight biopic started. Wait, Could This Be a Michael Jordan Basketball Memoir?

But Air is not about any company, person or sport; It’s about a shoe—actually a single custom-made sneaker—that would change the history of footwear and sports marketing forever.

Affleck’s fifth feature as a filmmaker is radically different from his previous films ( City, Argogone Baby Gone), but you get the same sense of deft touch and assurance a few minutes into the narrative — a cast populated by the fraternity’s finest certainly helps — that builds toward its climax as an old-fashioned, well-worn takes the path

At its center is Matt Damon, flawless as Sonny Vaccaro, the basketball scout/sports executive who made the impossible possible; Get then-rookie Michael Jordan in 1984 to sign for Nike in an era dominated by Converse and Adidas.

But before that there are many hoops to jump through. Nike co-founder and former CEO Phil Knight (Ben Affleck) is appalled at the idea of ​​blowing the basketball division’s entire budget – and then some – on an unproven player. Jordan’s protective mother Deloris (Viola Davis) and his sharp-tongued agent (a scene-stealer Chris Messina) both need suitable wooing to be convinced of this collaboration, before Jordan himself comes into the picture, and No one knows whether or not Nike’s eccentric designer Peter Moore (Matthew Maher) has the ability to create the greatest shoe prototype ever: The very first Air Jordan.

There’s plenty of fast-paced, generic banter, dry wit and office humour, as all of these sub-plots converge smoothly towards their ultimate-that-not-that conclusion, in a dialogue-filled smorgasbord that will always keep you hooked. Keeps you tied Amazingly, there is very little footage of basketball being played – save for some archival video of the real Michael Jordan in action – and most Air finds himself in the claustrophobic confines of conference rooms, meeting halls and office cubicles.

Air Jordan folklore is too well-documented (even among non-sneakerheads) to be any real surprises along the way; But there this terrific group of actors comes into play as they make their way into the highlight reels. Affleck breaks it down in delightful control of his powers as the showboating, Porsche-driving, barefooted arrogant knight; But he is also an excellent director who prefers to take a backseat here and let his supporting cast do the heavy lifting. Meanwhile, Damon gives us another glimpse of his amazing potential to make each character believable — we all know a Sonny at our workplace — and after gaining weight for the role, delivers a strong performance carrying the weight of the script on his lanky, fat shoulders.

Air Most enjoyable (and funniest) is during Sonny and Knight’s interactions; it is not impossible imagine the actors behind the charactersBest friends in real life, had a lot of fun working together on the sets. People like Jason Bateman, Chris Tucker, Marlon Wayans, and Chris Messina bring some powerful and entertaining deadpan to the party, but it’s viola davis which is heavy on all of them.

Matt Damon as Sonny Vaccaro and Viola Davis as Deloris Jordan in ‘Air’

In one of her most subtle yet engaging roles, she surrounds herself with an inexplicable air of moral wisdom; Affleck wisely films him in multiple close-ups that add some much-needed emotional weight to a story that sometimes, oddly, keeps the stakes a bit low-key. In fact, the best scene of the film unfolds in an intense back-and-forth between Damon and Davis — which focuses on the racial subtext for Nike and Jordan’s groundbreaking contract — and it’s great to see these two masters of their craft. A pleasure to have.

The decision not to show Jordan’s face throughout the film (Damien Young in a cameo) is initially troubling, but we make peace with it because Air makes progress; On that note, there’s no prior knowledge of basketball or sports groups necessary to enjoy the movie, but a couple of Easter eggs thrown into the mix should delight sports fans.

40 years later, it’s hard to determine who benefited more from the Air Jordan deal — both Nike and Michael Jordan made millions and established global empires in their own rights — but suffice it to say that Affleck’s saga is a fascinating retelling. Description : Similar to MJ’s illustrious career; An absolute slam dunk.

Air is currently streaming on Amazon Prime Video