This was a nice surprise. After the shaky Live By Night in 2016 (which I think was affected more by executive meddling than anything else), Ben Affleck took a break from directing, and now has a mini comeback of sorts with Air. It's been about a decade since I watched his other films (Gone Baby Gone, The Town, and Argo), but I remember liking them quite a bit, and enough to say that Air feels like a return to form for Affleck as a director.
It's most comparable to Argo in that it takes an interesting story from history, and gives it a classic Hollywood level of polish that makes things a bit snappier, more entertaining, and a little funnier, too. Here, it's all about Nike trying to partner with a young Michael Jordan in the mid-80s. I know nothing about basketball, but have always known Jordan and Nike go together. So the film's only likely to be suspenseful for those who've been living under particularly large rocks for a particularly long time, but it's not so much the what that's interesting, but the how.
The cast all give very strong performances, and between this and The Last Duel, I have to say that I think Affleck's even better in supporting roles than lead ones. It moves well and kept me interested for nearly two hours, even though the story on paper wasn't one I thought I'd find interesting. That's the sign of a good movie, sometimes.
However, Air's not quite a slam dunk. The writing takes some jarring shortcuts here and there, and keeping this under two hours also made for some occasionally weird edits. And the soundtrack may have laid it on a little thick at times (but hearing two Violent Femmes tracks was cool, and not only is Bruce Springsteen discussed in dialogue, but he's also in the soundtrack, which is always a win in my book).
Affleck and Damon haven't had a big win in a while, but they made a good movie together here and I hope it does well. It's worth seeking out for the clean, efficient, and all-around solid entertainment it provides.
