“Air” is a 2023 American memoir sports drama film based on a true story about how the shoe company Nike came to work with NBA player Michael Jordan, collaborating on the Air Jordan sneaker line. The film was directed by Ben Affleck and written by Alex Convery.

“Air” begins as Nike sales are dropping and Sonny Vaccaro, an employee of the basketball division of Nike, is tasked with the job of finding a few newly-drafted basketball players to the NBA for the brand to invest in and sponsor. Vaccaro, brilliantly played by actor Matt Damon, compels the audience to cheer him on as he advocates to fully invest Nike’s basketball allowance on Michael Jordan.

Although this movie is not meant to focus on Jordan’s career in the NBA, it still manages to capture Jordan’s grit and all-or-nothing attitude. We enjoyed the angle from which the film was told. The point of view is from the employees of Nike as they worked tirelessly to make their business deal with Jordan, not Jordan himself. While viewing the film, we felt a strong connection to the characters. We found ourselves rooting for the characters of the movie as they aspired to form their business deal. 

In addition to Matt Damon, the cast is made up of many other loved and familiar faces, such as Viola Davis, Jason Bateman and Ben Affleck. Jordan personally requested that Viola Davis play his mother, which adds an extra layer of visible emotion to her performance. The film was given a 91% critic score on the Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer and a 98% rating from the audiences, a fantastic critical and public reception. We were enthralled by the journey of “Air” for the entirety of the movie and were not surprised by this exceedingly high score given by Rotten Tomatoes.

Additionally, the creativity of the movie’s cinematography was incredibly captivating, as the character of Michael Jordan, played by actor Damian Young, was never fully shown in a single shot. Only Young’s feet and back were shown throughout the film, highlighting the fact that the business deal that surrounded Jordan was mostly handled by the people around him, such as his parents.

By the end of the film, we were left with a sense of pride and astonishment at the accomplishments of characters like Vaccaro and Jordan. We were amazed at the behind-the-scenes effort that goes into seemingly easy business deals, and the true beginnings of Nike’s fame.

For a movie about a business deal, “Air,” sure is a feel-good fun movie that can interest all fans, whether or not you own your very own pair of Jordans.

Deloris Jordan, Michael Jordan’s mother sums up this movie perfectly: “A shoe is just a shoe until my son steps into it.”