Air (2023)

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.

Air is about how Nike managed to make the deal for the Air Jordans. This is how a few businessmen managed to convince the up and coming Micheal Jordan into one of the first successful influencer campaigns.

This movie was mediocre at best. It focuses on the head of the basketball sales at Nike, and how he selects players to wear their shoes. He gets the idea to make a shoe branded for a specific player. This transaction make Nike what it still is today, and made Michael Jordan a name that is remembered beyond basketball. The problem with all this is that for a movie that is so much about branding Micheal Jordan, we have close to no scenes with him.

I don’t know about you, but this film kind of gave white saviour vibes. I don’t understand the choice behind not putting a face to associate Micheal Jordan to, but I didn’t look it up to be fair. I just don’t get it. Why not show the face of the brand and make him have a more participatory role. They just made him seem like a careless teenager where his parents make all the decisions for him… felt kind of reductive towards this star player. There was just something off about the way it was told.

The redeeming factor of this film was Viola Davis! She stole the show and was outstanding in this role. Without her, this film would have had an even worse rating. Matt Damon is good, but I Ben Affleck was off… it often gives that effect when an actor is also directing the film.

The worse part of the film has to be the camera work. I hate shots that are slightly out of focus. On a big screen, you can’t hide that. The shift focus from character to characters was jittery and that takes you right out of the film (notably in the bar scene). The depth of field was too narrow for the comedians. It didn’t give them enough range to act, so when they would slightly move forwards or backwards, it would loose focus. Also most conversations had close up shots that were way too close. It was uncomfortable and unnecessary.

This was all sorts of wrong. The story is a classic business like intrigue, but it’s missing heart, and good technique.