watch later

Not interested / seen

Air (2023)Air (2023)

Air (2023)

The legendary partnership between Michael Jordan and Nike gets the Hollywood treatment in this slam dunk of a film

Comedy, Drama, History

7.6

movie

United States of America
English
A-list actors, Character-driven, Easy
2023
Ben Affleck
Al Madrigal, Barack Obama, Barbara Sukowa
112 min

Synopsis

rotten tomatoes
imdb
wikipedia
Discover the game-changing partnership between a then undiscovered Michael Jordan and Nike's fledgling basketball division which revolutionized the world of sports and culture with the Air Jordan brand.

Our Take

7.6
The Staff

In 1984, Michael Jordan was a rising star and Nike had yet to make its mark in the basketball industry. With nothing to lose, Nike had to make a choice: settle behind the far more successful Adidas and Converse or shoot its shot and bet everything they have to win Jordan? 

You don’t have to be an NBA fanatic to know what Nike went with. The real-life story of how Air Jordans came to be is compelling in itself, but the dramatized version of it in Air is told with extra verve and charm, with director Ben Affleck and writer Alex Convery successfully turning a business pitch into something funny, moving, and highly watchable, predictable beats and all. 

Air covers the big hits and misses of business (which it buoys with lighthearted jokes and tender backstories), provides an addictive 80s soundtrack (without caricaturing the era), and gives us likable, rootable characters (an impressive feat given that this is, essentially, a Nike ad campaign). Matt Damon and Viola Davis, especially, turn in performances that elevate Air into something quite special. And while this film may be more about the Air than the Jordans, it is still a champion’s story—familiar and cheesy at times, sure, but feel good, inspiring, and truly winning. 

Comments

What did you think? Who should watch it?

Next up

More like this in

Somewhere in Queens (2022)

7.6

A small-scale but lovely family drama

A Room with A View (1985)

7.7

A stunning period romance adaptation that set the standard for Merchant Ivory

Penguin Highway (2018)

best

8.2

A strange yet charming coming-of-age story about life’s mysteries, complete with penguins

Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret. (2023)

7.5

This beloved coming-of age-tale by Judy Blume is as essential and timely as ever

BlackBerry (2023)

7.2

A darkly comic look at the rise and fall of the tech innovation and status symbol that was the Blackberry

Meet the Patels (2014)

7.8

A hilarious yet sweet documentary about Indian matchmaking

Mystery Train (1989)

6.7

Memphis, Tennessee (and Elvis Presley) are enough to draw three unexpected stories towards a run-down flophouse

Language Lessons (2021)

7.2

One of the few optimistic takes on online friendship and technology

Lost in America (1985)

7.2

A hilarious yet depressing satire about leaving it all behind

Made in Hong Kong (1997)

7.5

A nihilistic teen gangster melodrama about abandonment set in 1997 Hong Kong

Curated by humans, not algorithms.

agmtw

© 2023 agoodmovietowatch. Altona Studio, LLC, all rights reserved.