In the interest of full disclosure, I must begin by confessing that I am not a sports fan. Indeed, I wonder, for example, why I should get excited on the rare occasions when a victorious season occurs for the Canucks, a team of well-paid athletes, almost none of whom were born in Vancouver – though if they won, I would be happy for the fans for whom it is apparently important. And unfortunately, having been always as athletic as a block of wood, I never learned the finer points of team games.
That being the case, I was not altogether enthused at the prospect of seeing yet another film about the sports world, in this case, one about the Nike company’s pursuit of an endorsement of running shoes by Michael Jordan. Much to my surprise, however, I found the movie Air to be entertaining, compelling, and altogether a rewarding experience.
Of course, it is a pleasure to welcome a joint project Matt Damon and Ben Affleck, who first demonstrated their talents together many years ago in Good Will Hunting. This time, Affleck not only demonstrates his fine acting ability in a supporting role, but also his skill as a director, which was an especially challenging undertaking as the outcome of the narrative is known by most. Even I am not unacquainted with the “Air Jordan” brand and am not entirely ignorant of Michael Jordan’s athletic talent. And, of course, most of us, in this day of commercialism and endorsements, are aware of the enormous amounts of money involved in name endorsements of a multitude of athlete-related projects.
Despite the fact that the film offers no great surprise in its narrative outcome, its unfolding is spellbindingly suspenseful. What is especially intriguing here is the manipulation and risk-taking that Nike representative Sonny Vacarro, played by Damon, engages in as he attempts the nearly impossible task of attracting basketball star 18-year-old Jordan, to sign on with Nike instead of other companies that were at the time bigger and able to offer greater financial rewards. A quick consultation of Google revealed that the film’s narrative largely sticks to the facts up to and including the design of the iconic Air Jordan shoe.
Just how Vaccaro brought all this about and even helped change the rule governing the colours of shoes worn by NBA players offers an intriguing insight into the world of commercialism. This is marked by the mantra, “You’re remembered for the rules you break.”
At the same time, the film is given a surprising and welcome human dimension in that Jordan’s mother, played in another impeccable performance by Viola Davis, has a major role in the narrative – a reminder that behind every great man there seems to be a great mother! Viewers, however, need to be aware that the film is loaded with objectionable language (presumably a given in the world of commercial rivalry) and especially in a tirade by Jordan’s agent.
If one can overlook this, a viewing of Air will offer to everyone, sports fan or not, an entertaining, often comical and constantly engaging, journey into a world to which most of us are strangers. It is a world that involves staggering sums of money for trade deals – a world most of us will never experience at firsthand, and, of course, a world of human rivalry and fierce competition.
In much the same vein as the earlier Moneyball, the result is a skillfully made and diverting film that is well worth a viewing by anyone looking for an entertaining couple of hours of viewing.
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