‘Air’ Review: The Movie that Will Want to Make You Buy a Pair of Jordans

Some are already calling it “the greatest sports movie of all time”.

Rocky. Hoosiers. Raging Bull.

Countless incredible sports movies have graced our screens over the past century.

But I can’t think of a single good movie about sports shoes.

That was, until I saw Air.

Air is the story of how Nike came to produce one of the most iconic shoes of all time: Air Jordans.

Instead of focusing on the on-court heroics of Michael Jordan or the cultural impact of his brand, the film centres on a group of Nike executives taking the ultimate gamble on a 21-year-old Jordan in the mid-1980s.

Directed by Ben Affleck (Argo) and starring Matt Damon (The Martian), Jason Bateman (Arrested Development), Chris Tucker (Rush Hour) and Affleck himself, the film takes the sports movie genre in a new direction that’s incredible to see.

Despite the all-star cast mentioned above, the acting props in this film must go to Viola Davis (The Woman King).

Playing the mother of the greatest basketballer of all time isn’t an easy feat – but Davis inhabits the role of Deloris Jordan so incredibly that I wouldn’t be surprised if she picks up an Oscar nomination.

Peter Dubruge of Variety described her performance:

“Casting Davis was the smartest thing Affleck could have done, as the EGOT winner is to acting what Jordan is to sports: Her strength inspires, and she can move us to tears while making it look easy.”

Ben Affleck says he met with Michael Jordan to get his blessing before making #AirMovie and said Michael had a couple demands, one of them was who would play his mother

“I said, ‘Who would you like to play your mom?’ He said, ‘Well, it has to be Viola Davis.”… pic.twitter.com/A0v9Fu4Dqz

— Geek Vibes Nation (@GeekVibesNation) March 20, 2023

It might come as a shock to viewers and basketball fans alike that a Michael Jordan character doesn’t appear in the movie, save for the back of his head and a single line of dialogue.

But he doesn’t feel absent or missed - instead, the movie focuses on an idea, and a shoe, that changed the world. And it works.

At times, the movie hams up the mid-1980s nostalgia and American idealism a bit, but for the most part, it feels natural.

And even for a movie about a product that could have very well been a two-hour long advertisement, it didn’t feel like you were being advertised to in a big way.

“It’s a lot of fun, way more than a film about a large company striving to make even more money should be,” wrote Nick De Semlyen of Empire.

Overall, Air is inspirational, meaningful, and funnier than anyone in the cinema expected it to be.

It currently holds a decisive 100 per cent critic rating on Rotten Tomatoes, and Marisa Mirabal from indieWire has lauded its performance:

“AIR is a slam dunk and ultimately one of the best sports movies ever made.”

Air is out Australia-wide on 5 April.