MOVIE REVIEW

BY ALEX FIRST

How do you make a compelling film when the outcome is clear for the world to see?

AIR has the answer. It is a ripper of a movie. It is fun, engaging, edge of your seat fare.

It helps when you have talent like Matt Damon and Viola Davis at the core.

It means you dare not look away for a second.

We are in 1984, when Nike is known as a shoe brand synonymous with running, not basketball.

That latter is dominated by Converse and, to a lesser extent, Adidas.

Nike’s basketball division is on the brink of collapse.

Some time ago, founder and CEO Phil Knight (Ben Affleck) brought in shoe salesman Sonny Vaccaro (Matt Damon) to help change that.

So far, the move hasn’t brought results. In fact, in that regard the company has gone backwards.

With money tight, the answers don’t seem to be forthcoming, until Vaccaro pins all his hopes on a young basketball prodigy that looks like being signed to Adidas.

Against the better judgment of several senior Nike executives, Vaccaro makes an all of nothing play for Michael Jordan (Damian Young).

His pitch is to build a style of shoe around Jordan.

To do so, he bypasses the normal protocol, which dictates going through a target’s manager.

Instead, knowing full well that he will inflame Jordan’s go-to guy, David Falk