‘AIR’ – SLAM DUNK OR AIR BALL?

I kind of had high demands for this movie: As a person who has more than five pairs of Jordans in their closet, you can probably call me a fan.

So going into a viewing of “Air,” I kind of thought I was going to watch “Good Will Hunting” but with Michael Jordan in it – and I was pleasantly surprised. Not to say ‘Hunting’ isn’t a good movie, because it is.

I thought this new movie featuring the same Matt Damon-Ben Affleck pairing did a pretty good job telling the story as truthfully as they could, showing Jordan’s mother’s major role (Viola Davis plays her) in getting the basketball superstar to sign with Nike. Damon played his starring role excellently (as the Nike brand manager desperate to sign Jordan), and Chris Tucker was great and funny as always as a Nike management colleague.

My one problem with is movie is Affleck’s portrayal of Phil Knight, the CEO and founder of Nike, the Beaverton shoe giant. I thought the portrayal made him way too dorky. However, to be fair, while I don’t like Affleck very much as an actor, I do think he did a good job directing this movie.

If you’re going to the theater to watch Michael Jordan dunk on people, this is probably not the movie for you. But if you really want to learn some of the intricacies that went into creating his, and Nike’s, first signature shoe that revolutionized all basketball shoes and just the way that we looked at a star athlete, then you would probably enjoy the film.

Movies that I found similar to “Air” are “The Big Short,” “Moneyball,” “Hustle,” and “Jerry Maguire.” If you enjoyed these movies, then I recommend you watch “Air”.