Air
Cert: 15 | ★★★★✩

Longtime friends and frequent collaborators Ben Affleck and Matt Damon are reunited in this hilarious biographical sports comedy about the creation of an American icon.

The Good Will Hunting co-writers and stars take on the story of how NBA player Michael Jordan signed one of the most lucrative sports shoe business deals in history. The film is directed by Affleck, who also plays legendary Nike boss Phil Knight.

The year is 1984. Sports marketing executive Sonny Vaccaro (a great performance by Damon) is at the end of his tether. With Adidas, Converse and countless other sports-shoe companies scoring deals with the biggest basketball players in the country, Nike is left trailing behind.

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Ben Affleck in Air (Amazon Studios)

After spotting rookie player Michael Jordan while scouring for new talent, Sonny sees the potential in getting the 18-year-old to sign with Nike.

But Jordan is only interested in signing a shoe deal with Adidas, which to Sonny and fellow executive Rob Strasser (Jason Bateman, excellent) is a complete disaster. Sonny then decides to travel to North Carolina to bring Jordan’s mother Deloris (Viola Davis) on board.

Bateman’s understated delivery adds just enough heart to the proceedings to underline the importance of the deal to everyone’s future at the firm. Viola Davis steals every single scene she’s in.

Broaching the subject of the commodification of black sports stars at the hands of global conglomerates, Air borrows heavily from Cameron Crowe’s timeless sports comedy Jerry Maguire. It’s another win for Affleck as a director. I had a whale of a time, despite knowing almost nothing about the subject matter.