AIR: FULL REVIEW
Dads around the world rejoice, the early contender for your favorite movie of the year has arrived. Ben Affleck continues time and time again has proven that he's so strong behind the camera, and this is no different. You can see his artistic vision and skill on full display- as he brings the business world behind sneakers to life. Air doesn't have to be some sort of artistic film that breaks the mould for it to be entertaining, in fact the simplicity of the story helps navigate the film into an easy to follow and satisfactory finish- one that most audiences will leave feeling content and inspired by what they had just watched.
Sonny Vaccaro (Matt Damon) and Nike pursue basketball rookie Michael Jordan, creating a partnership that revolutionizes the world of sports and contemporary culture.
It's the storytelling that really catapults the film forward. It's the perfect blend of humour, energy, and just the right amount of emotional moments and beats spread throughout it to hit everything you want in this kind of movie, without ever feeling too comedic or too emotionally draining. We get the right amount of introduction into the sneaker industry and the business of a professional athletes agent- that anyone, even those that aren't sports fans have an opportunity to be fully immersed in this sports business world. Filled with TikTok clippable moments and plenty of quotes that dads and Air film enjoyers will be hammering off for the next year.
On a technical level there was a lot to enjoy as well. We get some great song selection to fill out the soundtrack of the film, really capturing the 80's time period and the vibes around Nikes headquarters of Oregon at the time. The decision to follow facial reactions and zoom in as the cast was reacting to various things happening on camera was such an effective move.
Cast wise is where it was it's strongest, the ensemble all do their part and carry some of the heavy lifting. Viola Davis especially comes in playing the role of Michael Jordan's mother Deloris Jordan, and she absolutely steals the film- as we all expected her to do. Her star calibre is no question and it's on full display throughout the runtime of this one. Matt Damon and Ben Affleck have solid chemistry, we've seen it before, and we see it again here- they both churn out good performances that are even better when both are on camera. Jason Bateman does a solid job in a pretty significant role as well, him and Damon work together perfectly. While, Chris Messina who plays the role of Jordan's agent- is my absolute highlight of the movie. There's no question his rants are gonna be seen all over the internet when the film releases on digital, and there's so many memorable moments and quotes from him in his shorter time on camera.
Overall, a solid movie- a great dad movie, which usually means a pretty good movie for every other audience member. It's nothing new, and predictable- but it doesn't have to be anything else to be enjoyable. There's enough to enjoy between the sound track, the story and it's incredible ensemble- that majority of audience members will leave their theatres feeling satisfied with what they just watched.
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