Air Review

Air is based on a remarkable story that changed sports business and sees Ben Affleck return to the director’s chair after a six-year hiatus.

In 1984 Nike are a distant third in the basketball market. Things are so bad that Nike’s basketball division’s budget pails compared to their rivals and the board consider closing the division. However, Nike’s chief basketball scout, Sonny Vaccaro (Matt Damon) comes up with a radical proposal: use of the budget on recruiting one of the hottest basketball prospects, Michael Jordan. He also proposes to build the brand around the rookie. Sonny just needs to convince his superiors and the Jordan family.

Air was a combination of a business film and a sports movie. It follows a typical template for these stories based on true stories where a maverick comes up with a revolutionary idea but must fight against the pushback. It was comparable to films like Moneyball and Ford vs. Ferrari. Moneyball was the film about the Oakland A’s 2002 Season where they employed a statistical approach to scouting. Whilst Ford vs. Ferrari was also a combination of business and sports story.

The comparison with Moneyball was particularly apt because both films were more about behind-the-scenes aspects of sport and business. Both were sports films where they didn’t show much of their respective sports. Air and Moneyball had a comedic tone and both films had a lot of talent involved, both behind and in front of the camera. A scene where the Nike marketing team debated on which draft picks they should approach felt like the scouting meeting in Moneyball.

Air was a dialogue-heavy film. Fortunately, the dialogue was sharp and funny. There was an Aaron Sorkin quality to it at times because of the zippy exchanges. Air’s screenwriter, Alex Convery, will be happy that he’s being compared to Sorkin. The screenplay and direction did set up Sonny’s character early on. He was an excellent scout who could see talent, had great knowledge and insight into the sport and used it to gamble in Vegas. It told the audience everything they needed to know about the man. There were a couple of moments of serendipity but this can be excused for dramatic convenience and tighter storytelling.

Whilst Air was Sonny’s story, as the film progressed it showed Nike’s efforts becoming a team effort. Sonny came up with the idea and got the ball rolling, but he needed other skills to close the deal. The key sequence to show this was when a small team needed to work over the weekend and create the iconic Air Jordan. The effort needed artists and marketing experts.

The screenplay and direction also ensured that Air had some stakes. If Sonny and the marketing team failed, then the whole basketball division would be closed and lots of people would lose their jobs. It wasn’t just managers and executives who were at risk, it was office workers, support staff, and people with families. There was a lot of weight on Sonny’s shoulders. Affleck and Convery did a great job at getting the audience to root for a multibillion-dollar company to succeed. I said as someone who prefers Adidas. There was an American Dream aspect to the film as Nike was a company with humble beginnings and for Michael Jordan basketball was his ticket to fame and fortune.

The cast was stacked with talent. Many of the actors had comedic experience in some form. Damon and Affleck have worked in comedy whilst Jason Bateman and Chris Tucker were known for comedic roles. I have generally found that Tucker in his previous roles just yells and shrieks quickly, but he was able to make me smile and chuckle. Another comedic actor in the film was Marlon Wayans but his role was a lot more strait-laced. Viola Davis played Michael Jordan’s mother and she gave her role a lot of authority. Her presence was felt in every scene she was in.

Air was a fine combination of writing, acting, and direction that made a seemingly dry story into a light and entertaining film.