“Air” is a new film, starring Ben Affleck, Matt Damon, and Viola Davis, about founding Nike’s Air Jordans sneakers.
Michael Jordan, a name that is universally known, a name that is synonymous with sports fame and fortune. Basketball, sneakers and clothing line, and also what some people may have forgotten, even a small, forgettable stint in MLB, baseball.
Air is the brand new film directed by and co-starring Ben Affleck, with his frequent-flyer friend and acting partner Matt Damon (Good Will Hunting) in the driver’s seat. The script and banter in this new film is quick, so you better keep up!
Real life Michael Jordan, in the early stages of this film, made one of his only requests be that his mother “Deloris Jordan” be played by the great Viola Davis (The Woman King). Needless to say in his favor and our’s the audience, his wish came true. Davis, a longtime favorite actress of mine gave not one, but two of the greatest performances in the history of the cinema in Doubt and then in Fences. If you haven’t seen both, well…what are you waiting for?
I don’t mean to fool you, this drama has very little to do with the basketball icon himself. It actually has everything to do with shoes. Sounds boring right? A nearly two hour film written about sneakers? WRONG!
The basis of this film follows Sonny Vaccaro, played by Damon, in his unrelenting pursuit of snagging Jordan’s contract with a then little-known company you may or may not have heard of called Nike. Unlike a pair of old sneakers, Air is fresh, at times quite funny, and in the end just like a great sporting event, makes the audience cheer! If you’re not up for seeing this one at your local cinema and would rather wait for it to stream, give my favorite basketball film “Hoosiers” a whirl perhaps. It’s a real slam dunk.
“Air,” starring: Matt Damon, Ben Affleck, Jason Bateman, Viola Davis
Christopher’s “Meow” Score: “8” paws out of 10.
