The Good Will Hunting duo of Matt Damon and Ben Affleck have teamed up once again - but do they deliver a slam-dunk?
Director: Ben Affleck
Starring: Matt Damon, Ben Affleck, Viola Davis
Running time: 111 minutes
Matt and Ben are at it again. Some partnerships just make you feel instantly comfortable; Kate and Leo, Tom and Meg, Ant and Dec… you only have to see their names together on a poster and you can be sure that even if the movie’s terrible, the duo will make it work. Air is not terrible - it’s not Good Will Hunting, but it’s still very enjoyable.
Matt Damon has become the go-to guy for the ‘creative genius with a non-existent home life’ role, which he played brilliantly in Ford v Ferrari, and he nails it again here. His character, Sonny Vaccaro, is Nike’s talent scout, obsessively watching taped (it is the eighties) basketball games to find the next big thing to sign to the flailing running shoe company. Nike’s bare-foot wannabe-Buddhist, Phil Knight, played by Affleck (also the film’s director) butts heads with Vaccaro over his reckless plan to blow their whole signing budget on one player: an eighteen-year-old rookie called Michael Jordan.
The scenes between Damon and Affleck are so effortless; both passionate and comedic, but sporadic enough to enjoy the rapport between Damon and other characters such as Jason Bateman’s marketing man, Rob Strasser, and Chris Messina’s talent agent, David Falk. This is a great ensemble effort but Damon gives the film the most heart, despite having fairly thin material to work with at times. We’re made to root for Vaccaro’s down-on-his-luck nice guy from the off, but it would’ve been nice to see deeper motivation for his actions beyond being fired.
Viola Davis lights up the screen, particularly alongside Damon, and moves the film on when it’s just starting to drag a touch
The driving force behind the plot isn’t so much the rise of Nike but very specifically the signing of Michael Jordan. Given this is the entire premise of the film, it’s baffling that Affleck has chosen to conceal Jordan’s face throughout. This is such a deliberate dramatic device, yet the point of it doesn't seem as obvious. Perhaps we were meant to focus more on the other characters involved, or on the line of shoes instead of the man wearing them. It is driven home again and again that the film is about Michael Jordan, so I find it odd that we hardly see him. Only during a very brief appearance where the actor playing him (not included in the cast list until much later, owing to so little time on screen) physically turns his back on the camera so as not to reveal his face during a meeting scene at a rival shoe company. The technique appears ineffective and unnecessary.
Deloris Jordan, played with typical biting aplomb by Viola Davis, is a wonderful later addition to the cast - and leaves you in no doubt about who is in control of her talented young son’s career. Davis lights up the screen, particularly alongside Damon, and moves the film on when it’s just starting to drag a touch.
Set in 1984, the soundtrack wraps itself around the film without overpowering it; it is, after all, a film about sport, not music. The use of Dire Straits, The Clash and Bruce Springsteen are pivotal in creating the eighties vibe. That and Ben Affleck’s all-in-one Nike tracksuit.
Air is an entertaining film about one of the biggest companies and one of the biggest athletic stars in history. Just lacking a little grit to make it brilliant.
We have a favour to ask
LeftLion is Nottingham’s meeting point for information about what’s going on in our city, from the established organisations to the grassroots. We want to keep what we do free to all to access, but increasingly we are relying on revenue from our readers to continue. Can you spare a few quid each month to support us?
