Review | Air movie review: Ben Affleck, Matt Damon in sneaker drama that could use more direction … and more Michael Jordan

This film charts the birth of the Air Jordan shoe, a sneaker that helped turn Nike into a multibillion-dollar international brand in the mid-1980s

Affleck directs and stars with Matt Damon and Jason Bateman but, despite its fun lines, the story is aimless – and oddly devoid of Michael Jordan as a character

Reading Time:2 minutes

Published: 1:45pm, 28 Mar 2023Updated: 1:59pm, 28 Mar 2023

2/5 stars

Having shared an Oscar for Good Will Hunting (1997), played fallen angels in Kevin Smith’s Dogma (1999) and not-so-noblemen in Ridley Scott’s The Last Duel (2019), Matt Damon and Ben Affleck re-team for a real-life drama about … shoes?

You read that right. Directed by Affleck (Argo) from a script by Alex Convery, the film charts the genesis of the Air Jordan sports shoe, a market disrupter that helped turn Nike from a small-town no-hoper into a multibillion-dollar international brand in the mid-1980s.

At its centre is Nike talent scout Sonny Vaccaro (Damon), douchey boss Phil Knight (Affleck), marketing expert Rob Strasser (Jason Bateman) and their team.

Sick of playing second fiddle to the likes of Adidas and Converse, they make a bold gambit to sign 18-year-old future NBA star Michael Jordan (Damian Young) by designing a shoe to fit his personality, rather than the other way around.

Taking its cues from slick, Y-chromosome films such as Moneyball, Air starts out offering an entertaining glimpse behind the curtain of big business. Damon brings a low-wattage warmth to the central role, and it is nice to see him and Affleck facing off.

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