Air Review
Affleck is back behind the camera! Finally after a seven-year hiatus. It is possible he was looking for the right project since his last film Live By Night was a critical dud. This time Ben comes back to a story like his Oscar-winning film Argo.
It’s the true story of how Nike signed Michael Jordan back in 1984 changing sports marketing forever. Sonny Vaccaro and the Basketball division of Nike were 3rd rate without the budget to sign the top rookies.
Sonny sees something in Michael Jordan and puts everything on the line in an attempt to sign him. It’s just one of the many inspirational stories which take place in the sports world.
Ben is back with his old buddy Matt Damon. Matt is playing Sonny Vaccaro while Ben also steps in front of the camera as Phil Knight. Chris Tucker, Jason Bateman, Chris Messina, and Viola Davis round out the main cast.
Unsurprisingly with a cast like this, the acting is stellar. Viola brings the perfect gravitas as Deloris Jordan [Michael’s mother]. Bateman is particularly good in his minor role having a dramatic moment/monologue which hits hard. Messina is hilarious as the smooth-talking oily agent of Michael Jordan.
The best thing about this film is that it signifies that classic movie-making is still happening and works. There is a very basic formula here, but in the capable hands of Affleck and his acting troupe, they turn it into something enjoyable and special.
Reminiscent of a Damon film from 2019 Ford v Ferrari. A classic style of filmmaking that could’ve been a base film but turns into something more significant. These films have been coined “Dad Movies”. Yes, Dads will love this one too, but so will many other people.
Also, speaking of Ford v Ferrari there’s a little Easter egg on Sonny’s computer, a model Shelby Cobra.
This kind of filmmaking is like a Steak and a baked potato. It is hard to ruin that meal, but you can. However, if you add seasoning, and cook the steak perfectly. And if you add sour cream and butter and cheese and bacon bits to the potato, you got a delicious meal every time.
The film does an incredible job of getting the audience to feel like they’re in 1984. The old-school cereal boxes and magazine covers. Plus the music, the music is the time machine that takes the audience 29 years into the past.
At times the music is almost like riding in a car with someone who cannot settle on a station. But, it all still works. You know you’re in for a good ride when the film opens with a black screen and “Money for Nothing” by The Dire Straits comes on.
The best needle drop, and possibly the best one of 2023 is Pino Donaggio’s “Telescope” from the film Body Double. It plays as the shoe design is revealed to Sonny and Rob Strasser (Bateman). Perfect reuse of a song from another film.
If there is a problem with the film it is the great lengths they go to not showing Michael Jordan. To the point that it becomes almost comical. During those scenes, it takes the audience out of the film. It’s not often, but very noticeable.
Ben has returned to form, proving the classic movie-making of a film with a mid-range budget can still be successful. I bet this will be a major hit and possibly will come up again next year at the Oscars.
4/5 Stars
