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How do you pull off a film about the greatest basketball player of all time? You don’t. Instead, you make a movie about the player’s signature shoe and how the sneaker deal actually came to be.

“Air” does not argue whether or not Michael Jordan is the greatest basketball player of all time. Rather it shows how he impacted the business of sports and changed the trajectory of the Nike company.

The film reunites two of the greatest living actors, Matt Damon and Ben Affleck, in an unfamiliar genre. At its essence, “Air” is a 112-minute advertisement, but its witty writing, stacked cast and quick pacing make it a must-see movie this year.

The story follows Damon’s character, Sonny Vaccaro, who works for the Nike Basketball division in 1984. At this time, there’s nothing cool about Nike. Vaccaro’s pitch to Jordan’s family — specifically his mother, Deloris Jordan, played by Viola Davis — is that Nike could design a shoe that represented Jordan’s persona. The Jordans met with other shoe companies, Adidas and Converse, throughout the film before signing with Nike.

Damon is present in almost every frame of this movie as he hustles through the Nike office or around the country to seal the deal. His performance is simple but captivating. He sells the audience on the motivations of the character in a costume closer to his look in “The Informant!” This isn’t Jason Bourne — this is family fun Damon.

Damon is like Jordan, carrying the film from start to finish, but he needed his Scottie Pippen, Dennis Rodman and Steve Kerr. Davis steals the movie even through a phone in her honest portrayal of Deloris Jordan. Chris Tucker and Jason Bateman deliver punchy, comedic dialogue as Rob Stausser and Howard White, two of Nike’s top executives, to keep the film entertaining. And Affleck, who plays Nike founder Phil Knight, pokes fun at himself as the strange, conflicted boss in the operation.

Affleck is even better behind the camera than he is in front of it. Affleck hasn’t directed a movie since 2016’s “Live by Night,” which was four years after Academy Award winning “Argo” and six years after “The Town.” Affleck entered this sports movie genre briefly with “The Way Back,” where he plays a former top high school recruit turned basketball coach, but being released early in the pandemic, not many people actually saw the film.

“Air” was unfamiliar waters for Affleck genre-wise — it’s a sports-but-not-really movie. Many critics compared the movie to Cameron Crowe’s 1996 film “Jerry Maguire” because of its attention to what happens off the court or field.

But that comparison to “Jerry Maguire,” which is a love story set in the sports world, makes no sense. There’s actual gameplay in Jerry Maguire where Cuba Gooding Jr. does his best Terrell Owens impression. “Air” has neither of these things.

Vaccaro does not find the love of his life while trying to secure this shoe deal. There’s no recreated scenes of Jordan playing, instead using archival footage like his collegiate game-winner over Georgetown. That specific clip is shown time and time again, trying to show that Jordan’s greatness was hidden in display when he was a freshman in college — which it wasn’t, but it makes movie magic.

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“Jerry Maguire” also has the perfect ending as Renée Zellweger says the famous words “You had me at hello.” The ending of “Air” is known by almost anyone who wears a pair of shoes before they walk into the theater.

In this way, the film is predictable. But so is almost everything else that comes out today. “Air” is joining an abundance of movies about brands and consumer capitalism, including the upcoming “Flamin’ Hot” and “Tetris.”Films have to be familiar to get funding, as original storytelling doesn’t seem to pay the bills.

“Air” does its best to get rid of this notion, but Affleck understands that this was the jist of the movie. In multiple scenes, there’s a focus on the litany of brands that surround us in our daily lives. Vaccaro takes multiple trips to 7-Eleven, where the audience is reminded about the colorful marketing utilized by every snack company to capture your attention. The Air Jordan brand is as recognizable as a candy bar in front of the cashier at a 7-Eleven — Affleck makes sure to remind the audience about that.

The way “Air” is shot vaguely resembles “Argo,” though cinematographer Robert Richardson — who worked on “Inglourious Basterds” and “JFK” — flexes his skills at times with long, calculated sequences. Affleck gives his actors the place to show their talents in these scenes, having Damon go back-and-forth with his supporting cast.

The entirety of the film takes place in an office or on the telephone. It shouldn’t be that compelling, but it is, because of Affleck’s direction and Damon’s on-screen presence.

Still, the biggest reason why “Air” works is its focus on the people behind the people. “The Last Dance” gave audiences a reminder about Jordan’s greatness, showing never-before-seen footage of the greatest basketball team of all time. No one needed to see Jordan on the screen so soon after “The Last Dance” had been released, and the unseen, looming presence he has in this film makes it more fascinating.

There should never be a biopic about Jordan. There are some stories that are better left untouched. But this was about the power of a shoe, and what happened when a bunch of talented people decided to get together and make a movie about it. “Air” may not take the sports movie genre to new heights, but it is a genuinely fun ride through one of the most consequential business deals in sports history.

Published on April 10, 2023 at 8:36 pm

Contact Anish: [email protected] | @anish_vasu