‘Air’ review: It’s all about the shoes, and the A-list cast, in Ben Affleck’s slam-dunk drama
Ben Affleck’s superbly crafted drama “Air” lands like a classic Michael Jordan dunk – you can even imagine Affleck’s tongue wagging and legs splayed in mid-jump akin to his Airness.
Like “Moneyball” before it, “Air” (★★★½ out of four; rated R; in theaters Wednesday) is more concerned with the business of the sport than the actual game, though the central plot line is just about as thrilling as a close finish. The film is a captivating tale boasting a deep bench of talent (most notably Matt Damon and Viola Davis) and a shoe at its center, a Cinderella tale for dads and dudes – and protective moms, too – that oozes 1980s style and finds something to say about the value of athletes still true to this day.
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In 1984 following the NBA Draft, shoe companies are scrambling to sign rookies to endorsement deals and Nike’s situation is more dire than most. Led by high-strung, philosophy-spouting Phil Knight (Affleck), the brand is famous for its running gear but its basketball division, on the cusp of being axed, is in desperate need of star power. With only $250,000 to spend on a few players, schlubby basketball scout Sonny Vaccaro (Damon) is the one tapped to find the court stars who can take Nike to the promised land, though most of the big guys have already signed elsewhere.
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Most sports fans or any sneakerheads who’ve bought a pair of Air Jordans in the past four decades know how the story ends, but Affleck and screenwriter Alex Convery are still able to ratchet up the right amount of tick-tock tension. The joy is in the journey, with dramatic scrambling within Nike as Knight weighs happy shareholders vs. being a shoe company maverick and Deloris maintaining her steely facade as the Jordans meet all the potential suitors. Even though we’re talking about corporate brands here, the competition between Converse, Adidas and Nike is tantamount to a Lakers vs. Celtics playoff game and Affleck really leans into it in crowd-pleasing fashion.
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Damon and Davis together are phenomenal: Sonny doesn’t take no for an answer when it comes to this once-in-a-lifetime player while Deloris is clear-eyed and honest about her boy’s future and how valuable he truly is. Interestingly, Affleck presents Jordan as a mostly passive participant, a character whose face you never see, instead focusing on the wheels turning around him. (Jordan’s hoop skills do get featured in one sequence that both gives an important moment weight while also in a way taking away from it. Your mileage may vary depending on your MJ fandom.)
“Live by Night” aside, Affleck’s directorial record is pretty impressive and “Air” feels like his most inspired effort to date, an underdog story with the greatest basketball player of all time at its heart.
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