The 2023 film, “Air,” tells the true story on the origin of Air Jordan, the distinguished basketball shoeline. The film is directed by Ben Affleck and Alex Convery, and stars many prominent actors. It follows the story of a Nike employee, Sunny Vercado (Matt Damon), seeking to strike a business deal with rookie player Michael Jordan.
In 1984, Oregon-based Nike was on the verge of shutting down their basketball shoe division due to low sales. In response, Marketing VP Rob Strasser (Jason Bateman) along with co-founder and CEO Phil Knight (Ben Affleck) assign Vaccaro, Nike’s basketball talent scout, to come up with a new spokesperson for Nike basketball shoes. Vaccaro believes Jordan is the answer Nike has been looking for, but it proves a challenge to convince Jordan to sign. Vaccaro defies the norms of signing players in an attempt to get what he believes is a generational talent.
I was completely surprised by this movie. I hadn’t heard much about it and didn’t know what to expect. The acting was phenomenal, and even with what would seem like a dry plot, it was entertaining the whole time. The historical elements were very interesting and it was intriguing to see the origin of such an influential item.
The film has been racking up great reviews. People loved to see Affleck direct a movie again and confirm his talent behind the camera. He kept the characters moving and energetic even in long talking scenes. However, critics say this movie is nothing more than another advertisement for Nike. I completely disagree with this as it goes much deeper and shows that all distinguished stories have an origin.
This movie sheds light on the rise to fame of the greatest basketball player of all time, and the shoe that became history. Overall, this movie contained humor alongside a very developed plot. Even if you’re not a fan of basketball, or basketball shoes, I highly recommend this movie. It was great in every aspect.
