“Air” marks another slam dunk for Ben Affleck as a director and I'm almost tempted to say that I enjoyed this as much as I did his Oscar-winning “Argo.”
Like that film, this movie is a time capsule of 1984 and not only does it pay homage to Michael Jordan signing with Nike and creating the Air Jordan line of shoes, it also plays a greatest hits of everything from 1984.
The opening credits give us a montage of iconic movies such as “Beverly Hills Cop” complete with the recognizable theme song that plays a couple of times as well as a scene from “Ghostbusters.” Other references include the Cabbage Patch Kids, the "Where's the Beef?" ad, and there’s even a glimpse of Hulk Hogan getting the spotlight while Dire Straits "Money For Nothing" give us a shift into the paradigm of that prevalent year.
Matt Damon stars as Sonny Vaccaro, a talent scout agent for Nike whose given the task of finding new ways for a new line of shoes at Nike while they're on the verge of bankruptcy. Ben Affleck costars as Phil Knight, the CEO of Nike.
Vaccaro believes the way to go is to get Michael Jordan to sign, despite the fact that he may be committed to Adidas. He's convinced to talk to Jordan after seeing him in a commercial that demonstrates Jordan's abilities.
Everyone at Nike thinks Vaccaro is crazy, but he decides to go visit Jordan and his parents at their home in Wilmington, N.C., and persuade MJ to sign with them. That is if he can get past MJ's mother Deloris (Viola Davis). She's enticed after learning Nike will give her son all the attention that would he would not receive from their competition.
In addition to Davis' terrific work, one of the movie's best strengths is its supporting cast, which is equally fleshed out as players in the game coming up their own strategies. Jason Bateman costars as Rob Strasser, the VP of marketing at Nike who wants to be optimistic but thinks Sonny is in over his head. Chris Tucker is Howard White, an executive at Nike who has connections with George Raveling (Marlon Wayans), an assistant basketball coach at the 1984 Olympics when Jordan was on the team. Sonny thinks George can play a hand in getting Jordan to sign.
Affleck is clearly back in his element as a director and his performance shines alongside his “Good Will Hunting” alum. Just as he did with “Argo,” he helps bring to life another American story that has so much more going for it than what we thought we knew. Affleck helms deft direction and that's in part to Alex Convery's sharp, funny and well-crafted screenplay.
Damon also delivers an alley-oop as he creates a character that is determined to see Jordan sign with Nike and he doesn't do any traveling with his performance.
I can say the same about the rest of the cast as they're in pitch-perfect form. I was glued to just about every second of “Air,” which doesn't waste a second of its 112-minute runtime.
It has the arc of a solid narrative, the performances from actors who are committed to their roles and it also offers unique insights into a world that on the surface might seem monotonous, but thanks to Affleck, Damon, Convery and the rest, “Air” is energizing and electric.
This is already the year's first sure-fire Oscar contender. It hits nothing but net.
Grade: A
(Rated R for language throughout.)