REVIEW: Ben Affleck Lands the Winning Shot with ‘AIR’
Air Jordans may be the most iconic shoe brand to ever be released by a professional athlete. Created for basketball legend Michael Jordan, the shoe is worn by many all over the world. As well-known as the shoe brand is now, in 1984 there was a chance the shoe might never come to life. In that year, Nike’s basketball department was almost non-existent, coming in third to the industry leaders Converse and ADIDAS. With the best of the best in the basketball world signing with these companies, Nike was left with the “scraps” to represent their brand. Nike marketing executive Sonny Vaccaro had a vision to propel the company’s way to the top, it was a huge risk that could land him, Nike’s Director of Marketing Rob Strasser, and many other Nike employees in the unemployment line. His goal was to sign NBA rookie, albeit college basketball star, Michael Jordan. One slight problem, Jordan loved and was set to sign with ADIDAS. Vaccaro had to find a way to convince Michael and his parents, namely his mother Deloris, to take a risk on him and Nike if he wanted to keep his job. In Amazon Studios’ AIR, this very story unfolds on the big screen.
Directed by Ben Affleck, the improbable tale is brought to life without any unnecessary bells and whistles. Affleck keeps the story set at a brisk pace, keeping the will he/won’t he sign part of the story at the perfect amount while filling in the backstory of the film’s other major players. He lays out his starters, executes his game plan, and sinks the winning shot in the end. Affleck brought together a cast that implements his plan with ease and expertise while ensuring this sports drama doesn’t end up feeling like a marketing ploy for Nike. The story is focused on the humans that made Vaccaro’s dream a reality.
Damon leads the cast as Sonny Vaccaro and this is his and Jason Bateman’s (Rob Strasser) film. The audience can’t help but root for Vaccaro when he takes the risk to seek out signing Jordan or feel for Strasser when he is explaining what will happen if this risk doesn’t pay off. The two give it their all in this film and are fantastic to watch play off one another as they pull together their outlandish plan to sign the soon-to-be greatest player in the game, Michael Jordan.
As many already know, Michael Jordan handpicked Viola Davis to play his mother Deloris and no one else could have pulled off this role. Davis, physically, has a minor role in the film, but makes a lasting impact in every scene she is in. As the matriarch of the Jordan family, it’s Deloris way or the highway and Davis brings this to life brilliantly. Chris Tucker, Marlon Wayans, Chris Messina, and Affleck round out the cast as Nike executive, Howard White, 1984 Olympic basketball assistant coach, George Raveling, Jordan’s agent David Falk, and Nike co-founder, Phil Knight, respectively. The foursome have minor parts, especially Wayans, but are integral to the story. Each of their characters fill in the gaps of the story without distracting from it.
It’s not often a sports drama comes around that doesn’t just focus on the sport or an important game and that could deter audiences looking for a purely sport film. AIR’s story of Michael Jordan joining forces with Nike is much more than what it appears and is one worth seeing. The underdog story is engaging and the cast is wonderful. This isn’t your standard sports film. From start to finish, you are given a fun risk-it-all story that, even though we know the outcome, will keep you hooked until the very end.
Grade: A