‘Air’ Review Hollywood depicts the history of how Nike created the Air Jordan

On April 5th, “Air” opened in theaters. The film was directed by two-time Academy Award winning actor Ben Affleck. The film focuses on Sonny Vaccaro (Matt Damon), a sports marketing executive who is hired by the CEO of Nike, and Phil Knight (Ben Affleck) to put the company ahead of rival brands Adidas and Converse. Vaccaro becomes willing to bet his entire career on a rookie out of North Carolina becoming the next big thing in basketball. He becomes so confident that he believes an entire shoe brand can be built around him.

The film is unlike other sports movies as it focuses on the business side of sports instead of the wins and losses. While both can be displayed in a film such as Jerry Maguire, it is uncommon for the business aspect to overtake the results of games.

It is also different because while the film mentions Michael Jordan, he is not in the film. Instead, the people around him are featured such as his mother Deloris

(Viola Davis), her husband James (Julius Tennon), and Jordan’s agent, David Falk (Chris Messina).

One does not need much knowledge about Michael Jordan or the NBA to understand the film but it does help in some aspects. It is largely a film centered around a risk-taking idea for a company that needs something big to make them the face of basketball.

“Air” does a good job at taking the spotlight away from the biggest character in the film and emphasizing the people who helped put Michael Jordan in the most successful position they could. Everyone from his family members to the employees at Nike are displayed in ways the average person would not have thought about prior to watching the film.

The scenes in the film do a good job at making it feel like it is in the 1980s. Everything from the music to the clothing encapsulates the viewer in that time period for the entire 112 minutes of the film. Smart dialogue is balanced out with subtle humor throughout the film which makes for a fun, captivating watch.

“Air” excels at telling the story behind the story. Everyone remembers Michael Jordan as a legendary basketball player who won six NBA Championships and who many regard as the greatest player of all time. However, it is never mentioned how his public image became bigger than most athletes of his time and few remember his rookie days. This film does all of this plus informs the audience about the origins of Air Jordan.