Kevin Lally on Film

With the exception of his 2016 misstep Live by Night, actor and sometime tabloid target Ben Affleck has an enviable track record as a director. Gone Baby Gone, his adaptation of a Dennis Lehane crime tale, was an auspicious debut; his follow-up, The Town, was equally gritty and gripping, and Argo won the Oscar for best picture. (And let’s not forget his screenplay for 2021’s most unjustly overlooked film, Ridley Scott’s The Last Duel.)

Now, Affleck is poised to enjoy his biggest hit to date, Air, the unexpectedly fascinating story behind the creation of Nike’s pioneering Air Jordan sneaker. I’m frankly surprised that I found the film so riveting, as I’m not a sports fan; the only basketball game I’ve watched from beginning to end was in person in the ’70s, when my alma mater Fordham University’s squad was on a hot streak. But Air isn’t really a sports film, it’s more a character study of the executives at Nike who desperately courted rising star Michael Jordan in a quest to jump-start their basketball sneaker business. Jordan himself is never seen in the film except from the back and in archival clips, but prominently featured is his smart, supportive mother Deloris, played by the incomparable Viola Davis.

The other central character in Alex Convery’s screenplay is Sonny Vaccaro, Nike’s resident basketball expert, played by Affleck’s longtime friend and Good Will Hunting collaborator, Matt Damon. At the time, in 1984, Nike’s main product is its running shoe, and its market share of basketball shoes is way behind that of competitors Adidas and Converse. The company’s goal is to recruit several draft picks to endorse their sneakers, but Sonny sees something extraordinary in rookie Jordan and campaigns to gamble their entire quarter-million-dollar budget on signing him. To set that plan in motion, Sonny bypasses Jordan’s agent, David Falk (a hilariously volatile Chris Messina), and drops in at the Jordan home in North Carolina to make his pitch.

Thanks to Affleck’s handling of his stellar cast, this story of business negotiations has more life and energy than many a movie drama. Damon, quite a few pounds heavier, captures Sonny’s passion and determination beautifully. The dependable Jason Bateman is terrific as Rob Strasser, Nike’s stressed-out VP of marketing. Chris Tucker steals his every scene (no surprise) as motormouthed ex-player and Nike exec Howard White. Matthew Maher is very amusing as Nike’s eccentric creative director, the man who designed both the groundbreaking shoe and the iconic Jordan silhouette logo. And Affleck himself is great fun as Nike’s New Age-y, self-absorbed founder and CEO, Phil Knight.

The heart of the film, though, is Davis, whom Jordan insisted be cast as his mother. Formidable and uncannily business-savvy, she’s the wisest person in every conference room, and her absolutely reasonable but unprecedented demand that her son get a cut of every sneaker sold bearing his name revolutionizes the business. Davis’ real-life husband, Julius Tennon, is also a warm and welcome presence as Jordan’s good-natured dad, James.

Air is also a delightful nostalgia trip: An opening montage of pop-culture touchstones, including Wendy’s “Where’s the Beef?” commercial and Apple’s “1984” Super Bowl ad, will be ancient history to younger viewers but bring smiles to old folks like me. Affleck also broke the budget for music rights, applying wall-to-wall pop songs from the era.

As someone who’s never witnessed Jordan’s skills on the court, Air doesn’t resonate with me the way it will with millions of basketball fans. But what does resonate is the story of his devoted, unsung mother Deloris, whose vision for her son evolved into a brand earning $5 billion annually. Incredible.

Pictured: Matt Damon and Viola Davis. Photo courtesy of Amazon Studios. Air opens in theaters on April 5.