Review: Air

Our J.P. reviews “Air,” the Ben Affleck-directed film based on the true events about the origin of Air Jordan and Nike’s quest to land a deal with then-rookie player Michael Jordan.

Air
Amazon Studios

• Directed by Ben Affleck
• Written by Alex Convery
• Produced by David Ellison, Jesse Sisgold, Jon Weinbach, Ben Affleck, Matt Damon, Madison Ainley, Jeff Robinov, Peter Guber, Jason Michael Berman
• Starring Matt Damon, Ben Affleck, Jason Bateman, Marlon Wayans, Chris Messina. Chris Tucker, Viola Davis

Studio Synopsis:

From award-winning director Ben Affleck, AIR reveals the unbelievable game-changing partnership between a then rookie Michael Jordan and Nike’s fledgling basketball division which revolutionized the world of sports and contemporary culture with the Air Jordan brand. This moving story follows the career-defining gamble of an unconventional team with everything on the line, the uncompromising vision of a mother who knows the worth of her son’s immense talent, and the basketball phenom who would become the greatest of all time

J.P.’s Take:

In the ’80s and ’90s, everybody wanted to be like Mike, referring to one of the greatest basketball players to grace the NBA, Michael Jordan.

In 1984, he was the first-round draft pick for the Chicago Bulls and the third overall draft pick in the NBA, which was a risky move for the team, as he was still quite the rookie. Basketball enthusiasts watched as Jordan quickly rose to fame as one of the league’s top players. In between, he gained the attention of endorsers like Gatorade and McDonald’s and shoe companies like Puma, Converse, Adidas, and, later, the struggling shoe company, Nike. Little did they know Nike would launch Jordan into the country’s most prolific player and businessman.

“Air” tells the humble beginnings of shoe marketing executive, John Paul Vincent “Sonny” Vaccaro, and his pursuit of a soon-to-be basketball legend Michael Jordan. We tag along with Vaccaro as he struggles to sign a basketball player who would wear the Nike shoe brand, which would keep their company alive. Yet, capturing the goose that lays the golden egg appears allusive for the company entirely.

Sonny is a gambling man who has a hunch and is willing to take risks to make this happen. He may not have it all figured out, but still, he’s adamant in his endeavor. His drive comes from being a true basketball enthusiast and watching young high school players prove their skills. He’s up on the stats of NBA players and college outlets. His gut feeling takes over as he goes for what he knows. Yet, this doesn’t always mean success. Although he considers his failures as life lessons, his gut instinct kicks in once again. This time he spots a player from North Carolina University, who appears to be the underdog of the league. That doesn’t deter Sonny from drawing out young Michael Jordan’s potential.

“Air” is the type of film that says you’d have to have been there in the room when it happened. We’re allowed into the boardroom when Sonny Vaccaro (Matt Damon) is battling it out with his friend and co-founder of Nike, Phil Knight (Ben Affleck). We sympathize with Sonny as he strives to make ends meet while helping to build a brand from the ground up. What pushes this film along in fervent fashion is Damon’s focus on drumming up Sonny’s passion for basketball and his sheer ability to spot greatness. Sonny eats, sleeps, and breathes the sport.

However, along his journey, he begins to learn about the disparities of black youth when it comes to opportunities in professional basketball or the business world. Vaccaro also learns a valuable lesson in taking responsibility for the upbringing of these youth. Some of the best moments in the film involve Michael Jordan’s parents. Vaccaro takes a trip to North Carolina to visit James R. Jordan (Julius Tennon) and Deloris Jordan (Viola Davis), unbeknownst to his boss, Rob Strasser (Jason Bateman), and Phil Knight.

What makes the story worthwhile is that actor / director Ben Affleck and actor Matt Damon took the time to tell the truth behind Michael Jordan’s rise to stardom. The main story may have started with Vaccaro’s struggles, yet it spotlights MJ’s parents as the real influencers of his career. His parents make it clear to Nike execs that their son is not just a hot commodity but a young black man destined for something more than just ball playing.

I must hand it to the cast, who portrayed their roles with slightly quirky characteristics.

• Matt Damon pulls off such a genuine, yet spirited Sonny Vaccaro, who couldn’t help but feel for him during times of struggle. When he was on the upswing, I routed for him as well.
• Ben Affleck likens himself to Nike CEO Phil Knight with quirky gestures and oddball outbursts. Yet, it’s been said that Phil was quite the character himself.
• It’s nice to see Chris Tucker in a role that doesn’t require him to be a spectacle as he plays the vice president of the Air Jordan brand at Nike, Howard White. He does so with a sarcastic, silly, yet down to Earth flavor. White remained a supporter and friend to Sonny throughout.
• The parents. Viola Davis always finds a way to command the screen, and it’s no different here, as the mother of MJ, Deloris Jordan. Julius Tennon was instrumental as James R. Jordan Sr. in his son’s upbringing.
• Another surprise is Marlon Wayans as former basketball player turned Washington State University coach George Raveling. Wayans plays him in a grounded way.

Rounding out the cast is Chris Messina as the volatile NBA sports agent, David Falk; Jason Bateman plays the golden-hearted Nike executive, Rob Strasser; Gustaf Skarsgård as Horst Dassler, German businessman and chairman of the sports gear company, Adidas; and Matthew Maher plays the shoe guru Peter Moore, father of the Air Jordan prototype shoe.

“Air” is a nicely packaged effort on Affleck’s and writer Alex Convery’s part, as the story remained laser-focused on the premise and characters involved. The script touched on the lives of humble means; those willing to push past boundaries together. For a film with a running time of 1 hour and 52 minutes, it does this quite efficiently as it zipped by with feel-good results. Don’t get me wrong — it’s not all sunny days and rainbows here. We do see the pitfalls Sonny deals with in the process, even though these moments felt a bit pat in their execution.

As far as mainstream biopics are concerned, “Air” is the typical feel-good entertainment that gives you a different point of view on a legendary moment in time. I took it at face value and enjoyed it for entertainment’s sake, as everyone knows how the story ends.

Official Site: Air