Air Movie Review: Ben Affleck tells the Air Jordan story sans Michael but it is more fun than expected

Recently released on Prime Video, Air is a thrilling drama-comedy about the not-so-thrilling business deal between Nike and Michael Jordan, a revolutionary collaboration whose impact can still be seen in Air Jordans (and its knock-offs) all over the world. 

With Ben Affleck returning to the director’s chair, one would expect that Air would have the nail-biting thrills of his previous features like the Oscar-winning Argo and The Town. The fact that most of it plays out among men in suits at a corporate office might also give off the vibe of a dialogue-driven business drama like The Big Short. 

The presence of Affleck’s close friend and frequent collaborator Matt Damon as a talent scout reminiscent of his character in Ford vs Ferrari might also imply that Air will have some cutting-edge editing for the basketball scenes.

Further, a movie on Jordans is bound to have the Chicago Bulls legend himself. Or maybe a cameo from the real-life MJ? After all, he had time to play ball with the Looney Tunes on Space Jam? So, he can make an MCU-style cameo in a film about his shoes, right?

Air is none of that. It's not heavy on the business or sports jargon, is not much of a technical masterpiece, and has no Michael Jordan. And all of that works in its favour.

For its nearly two-hour-long duration, Air plays out as an ordinary drama about the people behind an extraordinary merchandising deal. Affleck puts on an absurd curly-haired wig to play Nike founder and CEO Phil Knight in one of his most charming roles as of late. He’s authoritative when required but often brims with the Zen-like energy of many self-styled motivation gurus. Maybe, that explains Affleck’s directorial capabilities on Air as he just lets his cast and crew package a business deal as a wholesome story of taking risks in the corporate world. 

Set in the 1980s at a time when Michael Jordan was still waiting to join the NBA, Air is unabashedly 80s in its style. Be it the cheesy pop needle drops or the blurry archival video footage of Jordan’s early matches, Air constantly reminds its viewers that it aims to be one of those simple-hearted 80s workplace comedies. 

A bit of the 90s Hollywood melodramatic touch is also ever-present as many would equate Air with Jerry Maguire. Much like Tom Cruise’s sports agent desperately pursuing Cuba Gooding Jr’s disgruntled football player, Damon’s basketball scout Sonny Vaccaro is hellbent on impressing Jordan (particularly his mother Deloris effortlessly played by Viola Davis). It must be noted that this is a time when Converse and Adidas were way bigger and popular than Nike when it came to basketball shoes (yes, that would come off as a shocker for Gen-Zers). 

When Damon’s loner/basketball guru is not after Mrs Jordan, he has to convince his own peers at Nike including the aforementioned CEO and other Nike executives like Howard White (it’s so good to have Rush Hour’s Chris Tucker back with his dynamic energy) and Rob Strasser (Jason Bateman at the best of his deadpan comedic timing).

Even the actors in bit roles get enough space to shine with Matthew Maher as the original Air Jordan 1’s designer Peter Moore and Chris Messina playing Jordan’s agent David Falk. While Maher brings a socially awkward likable nature to his character, Messina eats up all of his scenes as a foul-mouthed, hot-headed sports executive. A scene where Messina blasts Damon with threats of “f***ing the eyehole of his skull” and “chewing his nut sack” is bound to make you smile, even if you are watching Air with your parents. The expletive-fueled scene somehow still feels like it belongs to a family-friendly comedy instead of a Wolf of Wall Street-style business comedy.

Newcomer Alex Convery’s screenplay doesn’t aim to reach the intellectual levels of other films about men shouting in corporate offices. In fact, Air is quite the opposite of something like The Big Short and Wolf of Wall Street (when DiCaprio is talking business and not doing cocaine) as the business that the Nike men discuss is easily palatable for laypersons who don’t wish to scratch their head. Even Jordan’s basketball wizardry is discussed in such a simplistic manner that non-sports aficionados can make sense of it. 

So, with such a simplistic script, Affleck is definitely not harbouring any artsy award dreams to craft a biopic heavy on method acting and fact-based jargon. Air feels more like a professional break for him and his accomplished crew. 

Barring the likes of an influential decision maker like Deloris Jordan and Chris Tucker’s character, Air is essentially just nearly two hours of white men talking business at their corporate office. There are no scenes that would show you how Nikes are made at a sweatshop in an Asian Third World country. 

If you’re looking for a satire on corporate deals or the white rich corporate folks, Air is not that film. This is not Succession where every white person in a suit is a devious uber-wealthy apex predator in the social ladder. 

ALSO READ: How Succession made us cry for an old white sadistic scumbag billionaire

The men in Air are just passionate about their job (and in Damon’s character’s case, basketball) and want to secure a trailblazing deal. That’s about it. So, as an escapist tale of how (arguably) the world’s greatest shoe was born, Air serves its purpose well and soars high like the shoe’s namesake. 

We’re going with 4 out of 5 stars for Air.