Air

 

8/10

Air tells the story of the creation of the Air Jordan shoe line and how Nike, which was trailing behind Concourse and Adidas back in the 80's, took a massive risk when practically betting it all on having their product endorsed by then rookie NBA player Michael Jordan.

This is one of those scripts where almost everything just snaps. Writer Alex Convery seems to understand the risks of having a movie that's mostly people talking about doing things. He gives it his all in making sure the exposition doesn't get boring. He keeps your interest by throwing a lot at you. A great example is the beginning where an opening conversation happens while the characters are walking through the offices, a fantastic combination of visuals and solid and often funny dialogue. Really, the conversations are all well written and humorous. 

Excellent pacing here as well. Again, the filmmakers knew there was the risk of the movie being slow, so they make sure it moves at a brisk pace from plot point to point. There's no scenes of the lead hanging out with his family bloating the duration; the movie is going to tell you about the Air Jordan deal and they're not going to waste time. (The epilogue does run a little long, but the movie's about to end anyway, so it's not that much of an annoyance.) Even the dialogue moves quickly (it is possible to miss some lines.) Appropriately, they've got Chris Tucker, the king of fast talking, here as Howard White, the man who'd become the vice-president of Nike's Air Jordan brand, and he shows you how it's done.

Speaking of Tucker, it's nice to see him do a role that's more grounded and not trying to be funny every moment. He really pulled it off. Heck, this whole movie's a who's who of great performances from a top pedigree of actors, including Matt Damon, Ben Affleck, Viola Davis, Jason Bateman, and Chris Messina.

Understand that this movie is all about the deal done around Michael. You never actually see the guy's face (except for actual footage of the real MJ) or really hear him speak. If you were expecting him, prepare to be disappointed. 

The one weak spot of the movie, besides the epilogue, is that the big motivating speech that often happens in these types of films feels a little too calculated for its own good.

Highly recommended. This is one of those movies where almost everything works and it keeps your interest. Wouldn't be surprised if this gets at least an Oscar nomination for best screenplay.