Air movie review: Ben Affleck’s Nike Michael Jordan film is a compelling story

Once a superstar in movies such as Rush Hour, Friday and The Fifth Element, Chris Tucker hasn’t been on screen in seven years.

Ben Affleck directed the film, and has a supporting role. Picture: Warner Bros

In the accelerated shift of screen culture from cinema to streaming, there are myriad movie genres that have mostly been shunted to the smaller screen.

Once a staple of a Friday night out, these modest adult dramas didn’t feature any caped heroes, alien-triggered apocalypses or a kaiju monster. They were solid storytelling with cracking scripts and a movie-star cast.

Sometimes they were a biopic of a relatively contemporary figure such as Erin Brockovich, sometimes they were an adaptation of a John Grisham page-turner such as The Firm. But they were the kind of mid-range movie fare that was dependable, and often great.

They’re now exactly the kind of film that premieres on a streaming service with cinemas now largely the realm of so-called event movies, school holidays family entertainment or arthouse indies.

But we miss a lot in not having a variety of adult dramas or original comedies in our theatres, and Air only reminds audiences just how enjoyable and immersive those stories are – in the right hands.

Matt Damon and Ben Affleck reunite in Air. Picture: Warner Bros

Directed by Ben Affleck, Air stars Matt Damon, Jason Bateman, Viola Davis, Chris Tucker (in his first acting gig in seven years) and Chris Messina, and tells the 1980s-set story of how Nike came to be in the Michael Jordan business.

At the time, Nike was trailing third in the basketball shoes ranking, behind Converse and Adidas. With a humble budget, scout Sonny Vaccaro (Damon) wants to bet big on one play – throw everything they’ve got at an upcoming rookie, Michael Jordan.

There are plenty of people Sonny has to convince, including Jordan’s agent (Messina) and Nike co-founder Phil Knight (Affleck), but with a team consisting of marketer Rob Strasser (Bateman) and the head of Nike’s basketball division Howard White (Tucker), they ready a pitch to the one person who really matters, Jordan’s mum Deloris (Davis).

The story of Air may be familiar to many but if you’re not aware of the nitty gritty of how standard basketball shoe sponsorships worth a couple of hundred thousand dollars and a car turned into a multibillion-dollar deal, Air is an illuminating tale.

At the centre of it is the doggedness of a character – Sonny – whose instincts are screaming that Jordan is a once-in-a-lifetime talent whose quest for immortality will drive the athlete to be the best. At times, Air works almost as a companion piece to the Jordan docuseries, The Last Dance.

Viola Davis was Michael Jordan’s choice to play his mother. Picture: Warner Bros

Air feels like a throwback movie, but it shouldn’t be because it’s not that it’s anachronistic art, it’s the distribution model that’s changed, and audiences have been conditioned into associating a $28 movie ticket with a franchise-driven blockbuster.

Not that Air is immune to this. Air is actually an Amazon Prime Video release which has been graced with an exclusive cinema run, but will be available on the streaming platform in due time, likely sooner than the old 90-day window.

(Pretty please) see this in a cinema because Air is exactly the kind of movie that deserves a big screen experience not because it has shiny special effects (it doesn’t) or explosive action set pieces (it doesn’t) or eye-popping visuals (it doesn’t).

If anything, the look is desaturated and features a lot of people talking around boardrooms and in offices.

Chris Tucker hadn’t appeared on screen in seven years. Picture: Warner Bros

But the script is pacy, the tone is consistent, and Affleck’s deft direction commands a raft of skilful performances from an ensemble who rarely puts a foot wrong.

There is something so delightful about watching fantastic actors just play around, bouncing off each other.

Damon, Bateman and Davis are always so adroit but it’s the return of Tucker that really satisfies. You probably didn’t even realise you missed Tucker’s presence until you see his nimble, whip-fast way with dialogue.

These are elements of a compelling cinema experience; don’t let it become a thing of the past.

Rating: 4/5

Air is in cinemas now