The new Michael Jordan movie, “Air,” is finally here. While it was overshadowed by the box office hit “Super Mario Bros,” “Air” was a funny, must-watch for basketball fans and sneaker fanatics alike. With the screenplay written by Alex Convery, and directed by Ben Affleck, the movie was a comedic masterpiece. 

The film follows the true story of Nike in the 1980s, which wasn’t the household name it is today. Their basketball apparel department, spearheaded by Rob Strasser (Jason Bateman) and Sonny Vaccaro (Matt Damon), is in desperate need of a star player to represent their basketball merchandise. Vaccaro hones in on the most expensive athlete of all, Michael Jordan (Damian Delano Young), and now must convince his boss, Phil Knight (Ben Affleck), that an investment in Jordan is worth the cost.

The movie did an incredible job portraying an underdog story, forcing the viewer to invest and root for a then tiny Nike against the biggest sports companies in the 80s, such as Adidas and Converse. The movie impressively keeps the tension high during the movie, despite the fact that it is common knowledge to the viewer that Jordan will sign a deal with Nike. This tension is accomplished through the excellent crafting of characters, showing just enough background information about them to make the reader cheer for the company.

While the viewer felt the high stakes through the film, the movie did an excellent job of relieving the stress with perfectly placed comedic relief. Nike executive Howard White (Chris Tucker) is the perfect character for this task because while almost all of his lines are a punchline of sorts, the situations in which he utilizes humor fit into the plot. The scene that saw him with the most airtime was a moment where he was trying to make the Jordan family feel at home during a meeting, cracking jokes while the other members all struggled with their nerves to begin the discussion.

There were some moments in the movie where the humor was geared toward basketball fans in a way that would make non-fans confused, such as jokes about former players. However, the movie provided many other types of comedy to supplement this. One way they did this was through Jordan’s Agent, David Falk (Chris Messina), however, most of his jokes included vulgar language. While this may turn many away, the scenes with him and Vaccaro going back and forth were some of the best in the whole film.

If there was any part of the movie that wasn’t great, it was the fact that one barely ever saw Jordan throughout the movie. Most of the movie only showed the back of the head when he was included, and he was in approximately 10 minutes of screen time. While I understand why he wasn’t included much, it felt strange not to see him portrayed much in a movie that was heavily influenced by him.

While “Air” will go down as a box office failure, the movie hit on all cylinders. The drama and humor were done to near perfection. If one has not seen it yet, they should do themselves a favor and give it a try. 

Contact Lathan Pearce at [email protected]