“Air” (2023) is set in 1984 and focuses on how Sonny Vaccaro (Matt Damon) convinced Nike’s co-founder Phil Knight (Ben Affleck) to change the way that the company did business and recruit rookie Michael Jordan to endorse their basketball shoe line, which would later become the iconic Air Jordan line. Affleck directed and newcomer Alex Convery wrote. Though uncredited, Affleck and Damon rewrote Connery’s original screenplay.
Before I get into the merits of “Air,” I want to talk about the elephant in the room that may explain why this movie was the next project that Affleck and Damon teamed up on. Regardless of the actual quality of their work together, collectively their movies have not been guaranteed hits. Did anyone see “The Last Duel” (2021), which they starred in and wrote the screenplay? Affleck has always been the stronger of the duo distinguishing himself as a director and acting in movies that did better than Damon, who has better acting chops. Affleck also has managed to be a celebrity who never gets cancelled because he often seems overwhelmed. As part of an ensemble, Damon is fine, but as the star and sole attraction, he is no longer bringing in the big bucks—“Stillwater” (2021). Bueller? I cannot speak for all the reasons that Damon lost his appeal. It could be oversaturation. Some reference “Project Greenlight.” Black people are like the North in “Game of Thrones.” We remember. So I don’t think that it is a coincidence that Affleck and Damon’s latest movie relies on one of the greatest black athletes of all time. Black people love movies, and we spend money so while our numbers may be low, we set the tone of the culture. They want us back.
If I was not invited to a press screening, this movie would not have gotten my money even with Viola Davis in a supporting role as Michael Jordan’s mother, Mrs. Deloris Jordan. I am not a sneakerhead, and I am a sports atheist though basketball is a sport that I can tolerate. There is no reality where I am spending money to see a movie starring Damon about marketing sneakers. And I enjoyed “Air,” which means that it is probably a better movie than I am claiming.
Affleck is a smart director because he probably studies other movies then mimics the tools that make those types of movies work, the biographical sports drama, and finds a way to infuse his own brand on it. He made the bio sports pic into a comedy to maintain a lightness and momentum then delivered a dramatic denouement. This movie’s protagonist is like the underrated maverick genius in a specialized field that Damon played in “Ford v. Ferrari” (2019) or Brad Pitt played in “Moneyball” (2011) with a dash of let’s put on a show trope energy around preparing for the pitch.
Sonny is more flawed than his earlier cinematic prototypes. He appears to have a gambling addiction, which has infected his professional life as he bets big to land Jordan and puts all his coworkers at risk of losing their jobs. Jason Bateman as vice president of marketing Rob Strasser utilizes his signature dry delivery to perfection so when he gets sincere and serious about his fears, it is a signal that things can go south. The weight of Sonny’s decision does not hit him until the denouement. Affleck, who has struggled with his own addictions, never frames gambling addiction as an issue, but a virtue: the bet was right even if Sonny loses. I do not believe that many viewers will notice this tacit appreciation of addiction as a distinction, not a drawback. It makes sense considering Affleck and Jordan’s penchant for the expensive pastime.
After “The Whale” (2022), some will not be pleased that Damon sports a prosthetic stomach to reflect his lack of physical fitness, which he plays for laughs. As someone with a similar physique with no need for prosthetics, but is quite active, I did not mind the ribbing while noting that it promulgates theories that will make my life difficult since no one will believe that I exercise hours daily. The comedy angle is brilliant because Affleck and Damon can use the story to appear to poke fun at themselves and appear self-deprecating and not like celebrities who are full of themselves whereas the reality is that they are making fun of the people that their characters are based on. Scene stealer Chris Messina plays David Falk, Jordan’s foul-mouthed New Yorker agent, who has some great scenes berating Sonny.
Affleck and Connery used some of the original Nike principles, which Strasser coined, as chapter headings to structure the narrative, which set the tone, but some of the principles are so long that they disappear from screen before I could finish reading it. It did not work and felt dissonant because the principle’s number did not match the corresponding movie’s chapter number if a number was assigned to each section of “Air.”
Affleck skirts prose dumping in favor of letting the dialogue flow organically while noting information in orientating titles throughout the film such as people’s names and titles. Some viewers knocked the soundtrack for including hits from 1985, and the film probably spent a considerable amount of money on getting the right to play these songs. The opening song and sequence provides a solid foundation for the period’s tone, but the subsequent song selection takes awhile to improve as the film unfolds. The day before the “Air” screening, I saw “Are You There God? It’s Me Margaret.” (2023), and Affleck plays the period for laughs whereas Kelly Fremon Craig plays it straight and makes it feel organic and lived in, not something to wink at.
Disclaimer: I have not seen most of Affleck and Damon’s films in five years or so, but “Air” felt like their subtle way to express their post-2016 political leanings through the story’s corporate competition for Jordan’s endorsement. Nike is the underdog. Adidas, a German company, is in the lead. Converse is in second place. All the subtext is hidden in the humorous exchange between Falk and Sonny with Sonny ribbing Falk that Jordan’s lead choice, Adidas, were Nazis. The film has a theme about which corporation is the true American choice, and the one with Nazis is out of the running.
In one notable scene in “Air,” Sonny prepares Mrs. Jordan for the corporation’s pitches to demystify the process while preserving Nike’s mystery, which is minimal because of the lack of money. When Affleck depicts the pitches, the unspoken theme of these corporate settings is the absence of black people except for Nike. The exchange between the Jordans and Howard White (Chris Tucker) explicitly underscores it, but it is a theme throughout the film. Affleck shows Sonny seeking out black people on campuses, in stores and in business. He is depicted as having zero social life and as a workaholic, but in his workspaces, he values black people’s expertise. Affleck is multitasking by using the character’s story to subconsciously do PR for his pal Damon. (Side note: Affleck speaks Spanish when promoting his movies, allegedly with a Mexican accent instead of a flat one so he knows the benefit of appealing to different demographics. The man is savvy.)
“Air” becomes dramatic after Sonny delivers an impromptu pitch speech, which is implied to be inspired in part by Martin Luther King Jr’s “I Have a Dream Speech” (I’m not kidding, and it is not as cringe as I’m making it sound, but yeah) to the Jordans. He basically begs to be a part of his greatness unlike the other corporations believing that they are bestowing favor on the baller. Like the Nike executives, Affleck is using Jordan’s greatness to siphon some of that glory to this film. Smart move, but the marketing makes it seem as if it is a movie about an iconic basketball player, not the process. Misguided moviegoers may leave dissatisfied despite Affleck delivering a solid project. Some may have come expecting the Michael Jordan version of “Whitney Houston: I Wanna Dance with Somebody” (2022), and Affleck waits until the end to show clips. I noticed that my audience was not engaged with the movie’s story until the story touched on something that they could relate to such as the unveiling of the sneaker. There were a lot of trips to the concession stands and bathrooms, lots of verbal exchanges and sneak peeks at the time on their cell phones.
There is a jarring shift in “Air” during the denouement where Sonny stops identifying with Nike and shifts to framing himself as the ordinary working stiff like Jordan who cannot beat corporations. It is a signal that the real-life Vaccaro would later work with college basketball players to get a fair share of the revenue that they generate, but this moment of solidarity felt disingenuous, especially followed by a sheepish hat in hand moment of deference to Phil. I almost spent two hours watching this man bulldoze over every social acceptable convention even at the risk of losing his job, but now he is a Dickensian boy saying, “Please, sir, may have some more.” No. It is a great Davis powerhouse moment, but I did not buy the dynamic.
If I have an issue with “Air,” the film is work propaganda and glamorizes making work your life. They stay in the office after hours, including weekends, and have no life as if work should be your everything: family, friends, and vocation. Other than Messina’s performance as a profane sports agent, I adored Peter Moore’s depiction of Matthew Maher, the shoe designer who designed Air Jordans.
Did “Air” make me to want to watch the next Matt Damon film? We will see. I have no issue with actors playing the same type of person, and he does his schtick, but Damon will still be avoided. Making something look easy is not easy. If Affleck directs another film, will I see it? Yes, but when and how much will I be willing to pay? Is it worth the trip to the theater for Davis? Not if you’re like me. I would have waited to watch it at home and I had a great time.