‘Air' Review: Half of The Story Behind Air Jordan

Director: Ben Affleck

Run Time: 1 hour 52 minutes

Air expands on the story between the recruitment of Michael Jordan to the Nike brand upon entering the NBA draft and the first iteration of the Air Jordan shoe. 

Mostly told through the lens of Sonny Vaccaro, played by Matt Damon, Air moves through interactions with co-founder Phil McKnight (Ben Affleck), Rob Strasser (Jason Bateman), Mr. and Mrs. Jordan, played by real-life couple Julius Tennon and Viola Davis, Chris Tucker as VP of Nike’s Director of Athletic Relations Howard White, Matthew Maher as shoe guru Peter Moore, and Marlon Wayans as George Raveling. 

With a surprisingly witty script, Air swims through a thick vibe of 80s nostalgia, illustrating the behind-the-scenes of everything that went into the first Air Jordan, without including much MJ. 

Nike, a fledgling company in terms of basketball branding, had less than 20% of the shoe market in the early 1980s. Their shoes were on the feet of gold medalists and millions of runners in general, but Converse, Adidas, and Puma led the basketball division through sponsorship opportunities with the likes of Magic Johnson and Larry Bird. 

Sonny, one of the men known for creating sponsored showcases and tournaments for high schoolers, knows talent and how to recruit, so he knows Michael Jordan is the future, but Sonny is pressed to convince everyone else at the company of this and that they should put everything they have into securing MJ.

We already knew Affleck could direct, so it’s no surprise that with his production and cinematography team, Air is well-crafted. The script pops and stirred laughter during my screening multiple times. The dialogue was so sharp at times that it was reminiscent of Entourage. 

The pace and dialogue is perfect for a sports movie that’s not really a sports movie. 

One of the few overindulgences of the film is the 80s feel though. The only reason time period matters here is because Nike and Jordan are so synonymous now, so the film has to convincingly take us back to a time when Nike was just a runner's shoe and Jordan was a 1st round pick. 

There’s never a doubt what year we’re in, but the film reminds you every chance it gets. Everything the characters interact with is branded. People eat Cracker Jacks and other snacks like they’re life-giving, and everyone is playing an electronic device, akin to how most of us these days are constantly attached to our phones, everything is nostalgic Coke and other brands; even the music is plastered on thick. 

There are some great song choices that tie into the movie, such as “Born In The U.S.A.” by Springsteen, but the film never feels quite comfortable with itself because it tries so desperately to be 80s. 

The production team may be leaning in the direction of Winning Time or Stranger Things as some audiences have mentioned, but overall, the nostalgia just adds gloss to a story that was already solid, amid two other issues.

The underindulgence of the film is the lack of Michael Jordan in a Jordan story and the lack of a feminine supporting cast. MJ is cited as having worked closely with Affleck for the film in its early stages, though he isn’t a producer. 

He requested Viola Davis to play his mother and suggested Howard White be included in the script, but the choice to cast a young MJ, yet only have him speak two to three times and never show his face is striking. The story ends up not really being about MJ, which we kind of expected, but shouldn’t it?

Air never shies away from Mrs. Jordan’s role as the matriarch of the family, the main person behind the Nike deal, and the #1 supporter and spokesperson for her son. 

Not to take away from this, but putting Davis at the center of the film highlights the gap that no other woman has much of a role in the film. There are office workers, secretaries, and the Adidas founder’s daughter, but they are beyond side characters. They’re almost turned into B-roll footage.

With these missed opportunities, Air is just a good movie. Affleck’s directorial skills cannot be denied, but the movie likely left a lot on the table. 4 out of 5