Air - A Movie Review

A shoe isn’t a shoe until you wear it.

Air is a 2023 film. Based on actual events, the story observes Sonny Vaccaro, a shoe salesman at Nike. Landing on one of his best ideas, Vaccaro persuades Michael Jordan, the most successful basketball player to enlist in his vision.

Highlighting the origin story of the Air Jordan shoes, Air recreates the timeline for manufacturing the popular shoe. Implementing most sports-related film tropes, the actors save this film from being a boring mesh of business dialogue with clever and energetic enthusiasm.

Matt Damon is magnificent in his portrayal of Sonny Vaccaro. He was sincere, funny, and gave a speech that was close to the heart. He knew how to play this part.

Damon and Jason Bateman were fantastic together. Their chemistry sells their characters. I am impressed with Bateman’s performance, adding his good old comedic charm.

As the director of Air, Ben Affleck also stars in the films as Phil Knight. Casting chose the right group of actors for the job. More credits include Chris Messina, Julius Tennon, Chris Tucker, Matthew Maher, and Gustaf Skarsgard.

The characters are enjoyable. Everyone involved knew the assignment delivering their very best performances as middle-aged men in a sports company trying to move past a rut. Most importantly, they’re authentic.

Michael Jordan had a hand in the approval of Air. Jordan wanted Viola Davis to play his mother. The right choice, indeed. Davis was spectacular in the role. Deloris Jordan looked out for her son, fighting for his name.

Ben Affleck did a great job directing scenes to be something more. Characters are constantly moving about the space. One of my favorite scenes involved Damon and Bateman arguing in the bathroom over the business. You have to make scenes different compared to most sports movies where conversations tend to happen in a meeting room or a bland office.

I know the film is not technically about him, but did Michael Jordan (Damian Delano Young) have to be obstructed in scenes? Every time he was in a scene, he is out of frame or shot from behind. It was more distracting from what they were attempting to convey.

Air is a dialogue-heavy film. It’s a lot of business talk. Avoiding what could have been a boring film, conversations are ramped up into fun scenes by the actors. They never sound like they’re reading from a script. As they talk about sports and business, the men have a sense of humor, jabbing each other with lighthearted insults and remarks.

The comedy is the best element incorporated into Air. This is a film about how the Jordan Air shoe was manufactured. Of course this film needs to be funny. It would have been so boring if it was all business-like dialogue, which it is. Most of it is a lot of waiting around to see what transpires.

Sports films are not my forte so I know others will have different opinions compared to mine. I mainly saw Air because it was a different story. Unlike other sports films that meander into unimportant storylines, Affleck kept the story concise. The story is grounded, never straying from the path.

Magnifying themes about projecting your voice in the business world, Air is the best example of how to take a risk in the business world. Never keep ideas in a bottle. Silence won’t lead you anywhere, especially in corporate fixations.

Most audiences will know the outcome, but give the film a chance and see Air in theaters. It is a film for sports fans.