Air may have the least promising premise since 2016’s The Founder which looked at the history of McDonalds. It focuses on the story of shoe salesman Sonny Vaccaro, played by Matt Damon and how he saved an ailing Nike by signing up Michael Jordan. Jordan is a huge deal in basketball, and writer Alex Convery cannot resist hammering that point home numerous times throughout the movie.
Whilst he may be a bigger figure here than Tom Brady, it is possible that Air will suffer from a lack of relevance in this country in the same way as 80 For Brady has. Also, this is ultimately about a shoe that enables a major company to become more dominant in the marketplace, so it is easy to feel nothing-at-all as Vaccaro gives an impassioned speech over swelling music to persuade Jordan to sign for the company.
However, it is a much better film than 80 For Brady. Director Ben Affleck, along with Convery, manages to inject some excitement and laughs into this seemingly mundane story. The performances are also much better, including by Damon, Affleck as the company CEO, and especially Jason Bateman as the marketing manager.
Rating: 7.5 out of 10