Movie Review: Air

I saw a sneak preview of the new movie “Air” yesterday, the first time this has happened since long before the Pandemic. The movie Air is not only outstanding but also a return to movie-making like it is supposed to be. A great true story, a great screenplay, and great acting. This is what movies are supposed to be about – unlike the disaster of 2022 where sheer garbage like Everything Everywhere All At Once wins for best picture – even though, it is clearly one of the worst movies ever made.

Going into the film Air, I thought that because Ben Affleck and Matt Damon were starring in this together, they also wrote the screenplay. In this case, newcomer screenwriter Alex Convery hit a massive home run with this screenplay, and more amazing according to IMDB, this is the first screenplay Convery has ever had that was made into a movie. A story and dialogue so good, that Ben Affleck decided to produce, direct, and star in this great production.

People over a certain age will probably remember how bad the NBA was doing in the mid to late 70s. Even playoff games were played on replay after 11:30 PM, because the ratings were so bad. Then in the year 1979, the NCAA National Championship basketball final was played with Larry Bird leading the Indiana Hoosiers and Magic Johnson leading Michigan State. This was the first game between these two great players that followed them into the NBA the following year. The addition of just these two players in the NBA in 1980, saved the sport of professional basketball. Then some four years later, a new player came into the league and amazingly was drafted only 3rd. His name was Michael Jordan, and within only a few games of his rookie season, it was obvious that he was going to become the greatest player in the history of the NBA.

Jordan started with the advancements made by Bird and Magic and took the NBA to the stratosphere, with not only amazing athletic ability but also by changing how the sports equipment endorsement field operated in the future. It was Micheal Jordan, who insisted on getting a piece of every sneaker that bore his name that was sold by Nike for the first time in history. This allowed athletes in the future to finally and fairly participate in the selling of products that bore their name. For me, one of the best parts of this great movie was this point, when Jordan’s mother, played greatly by Viola Davis was able to force Nike to do what companies like this should have always done – pay the player a part of the product that had their name. Why this was not always the norm, as it is with book publishing, was a revelation to me, while watching this great film.

The main character of this film Sonny Vaccaro, played expertly by Matt Damon is an employee of Nike within a basketball division that was going so badly it was only a matter of time before the entire division was going to be discontinued. Vaccaro was a big risk taker and had to gamble his job and break all the rules – that included even driving to Jordan’s childhood home to talk to his parents – to convince Jordan to join Nike. It was only Vaccaro who knew how great Jordan was going to be in the NBA. Some of the conversations between Jordan's mother Deloris Jordan and Vacarro – especially his speech at the end are some of the very best scenes in this movie.

The CEO of Nike, Phil Knight is played by Ben Affleck, who also directed this movie. Affleck’s performance and scenes with Daman reminded me of Good Will Hunting, released 26 years ago - and this movie is just as good as Good Will Hunting.

Other actors in this movie – all outstanding including Jason Bateman, Chris Tucker, Chris Messina (who plays Jordan’s volatile agent) and Marlon Wayans. There are no flaws in this film, not with the story, acting, or the great reminders of the decade of the 1980’s, including the music and the old computers that are littered throughout the cubicle offices of Nike. Air is a great return to "normal" style movie making and long overdue.

The Rotten Tomatoes ratings are 98% – with my rating, the highest possible at 100%. Air is a 100% must see, back to normal great movie going experience and receives my highest recommendation. This movie (regardless of its early-year release) should win best picture and best original screenplay.

For this to be one of the greatest sports stories of all time, Jordan not only had to be great right from the start of his career, but he never could be seriously injured.

At the end of the movie, before the final trailer, it was announced that Nike grosses 4 billion a year annually just on the Air Jordan sneaker, many years after Jordan retired from basketball. Michael Jordan still makes 400 million a year from the sales of Air Jordan sneakers. In 1984, Jordan’s rookie year in the NBA, the Air Jordan shoe made 167 million dollars.