Air

Nike are now synonymous with sports and sportswear, and Adidas's great rivals, however it wasn't always that way and this little film explains how they did it.

This film started off as a made for streaming movie, small(ish) in scale and with a decent but not spectacular budget. However the casting of Matt Damon and Ben Affleck (both in front of and behind the camera) really brought it up to another level. Whilst the final result still feels like a glorified TV movie, Damon is excellent as usual and for once Affleck doesn't seem to be punching above his weight as an actor. This is actually a very well made and acted film, although the slight story may not be to everyone's taste.

Viola Davis and Julius Tannon also turn in a good performances as Michael Jordan's devoted parents. There are also solid turns from Chris Tucker (looking a few pounds heavier than the last time I saw him in anything worthwhile) and Jason Bateman amongst others.

It's an interesting subject matter and I enjoyed the soundtrack too (many 80s songs of my youth) although it does have a lot of swearing so may not be appropriate for all. Ben Affleck is a very capable director and this is another good movie from him. If you enjoyed more recent biopic films like 'The Founder' and 'Steve Jobs' then you should enjoy this.

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.

Return to form for Mr. Ben Affleck. He managed to get me out to the theater to see a movie about Nike. Not necessarily a shoe guy, however this movie paints the picture as to why people invest in these shoes. The directing was fantastic. Stellar cast. Matt Damon bringing his A Game as always. Chris Tucker just added his magic to this movie. Jason Bateman just being a supporting character was interesting, but his story really added to the stakes of the movie. The pacing was a little off here, and there but the story, and cast really allows this movie to breathe in away you don't worry about the pace like that. Definitely give this flick a chance if you like start up films.

This is an extremely engaging and entertaining film that manages to mine suspense out of a story you already know the ending of. You know that Nike ... at the time the third place loser in the basketball shoe market ... managed to get Michael Jordan to sign with them and created the Air Jordan shoe. To a large degree the film is about HOW Sonny Vaccaro (in the form of Matt Damon) pulled off this feat, but it also makes you doubt IF it's going to happen. That's good storytelling.

It's also a pretty funny film ... more than I expected. Mostly due to Jason Bateman, Chris Turcker (who I am not a fan of, but is really quite good here) and a bravely self-deprecating Ben Affleck, although Dave Messina steals many scenes as Jordan's agent.

It's really so well put together than you start to forget that Nike is hardly an underdog, and this is really a film about a multi-billion dollar company becoming even bigger and making a soon-to-be-very-wealthy athlete even wealthier. It's a nice trick.

My only real complaint about the film is that it's WAY too dedicated to reminding you that it's set in 1984.

We need more films like this right now. No agenda. No politics. Just an interesting (and true) story that entertains us. Write some dialogue, grab some cameras, get solid actors, and go to work. There's nothing complicated in this film. There no mystery to solve, no giant set pieces, just a fantastic time on the screen. The 80s are shown a ton of love in every aspect of the film. I am liking Matt Damon more as an actor as his career moves on. He's not above setting his star power aside and concentrate on being an actor and it works so well here. Too much can never be said about Ben Affleck as a director. He's one of the best working right now. As solid a movie as you will ever watch.