Air - Der große Wurf

This was a nice surprise. After the shaky Live By Night in 2016 (which I think was affected more by executive meddling than anything else), Ben Affleck took a break from directing, and now has a mini comeback of sorts with Air. It's been about a decade since I watched his other films (Gone Baby Gone, The Town, and Argo), but I remember liking them quite a bit, and enough to say that Air feels like a return to form for Affleck as a director.

It's most comparable to Argo in that it takes an interesting story from history, and gives it a classic Hollywood level of polish that makes things a bit snappier, more entertaining, and a little funnier, too. Here, it's all about Nike trying to partner with a young Michael Jordan in the mid-80s. I know nothing about basketball, but have always known Jordan and Nike go together. So the film's only likely to be suspenseful for those who've been living under particularly large rocks for a particularly long time, but it's not so much the what that's interesting, but the how.

The cast all give very strong performances, and between this and The Last Duel, I have to say that I think Affleck's even better in supporting roles than lead ones. It moves well and kept me interested for nearly two hours, even though the story on paper wasn't one I thought I'd find interesting. That's the sign of a good movie, sometimes.

However, Air's not quite a slam dunk. The writing takes some jarring shortcuts here and there, and keeping this under two hours also made for some occasionally weird edits. And the soundtrack may have laid it on a little thick at times (but hearing two Violent Femmes tracks was cool, and not only is Bruce Springsteen discussed in dialogue, but he's also in the soundtrack, which is always a win in my book).

Affleck and Damon haven't had a big win in a while, but they made a good movie together here and I hope it does well. It's worth seeking out for the clean, efficient, and all-around solid entertainment it provides.

We need more films like this right now. No agenda. No politics. Just an interesting (and true) story that entertains us. Write some dialogue, grab some cameras, get solid actors, and go to work. There's nothing complicated in this film. There no mystery to solve, no giant set pieces, just a fantastic time on the screen. The 80s are shown a ton of love in every aspect of the film. I am liking Matt Damon more as an actor as his career moves on. He's not above setting his star power aside and concentrate on being an actor and it works so well here. Too much can never be said about Ben Affleck as a director. He's one of the best working right now. As solid a movie as you will ever watch.

I actually rated it at 7.5 stars. Ben Affleck's acting wasn't as good as we know it could have been. The strain of being on both sides of the camera showed - but damn he was great as a director!! Also felt that Chris Tucker's usual comedy set him apart for such a strong part.

So, I am absolutely NOT a sports fan and I don't wear Air Jordan shoes. HOWEVER, it was fun to see that Peter Moore, the original creator of the shoe, did, indeed, make them a work of art from the very beginning - once he was given free reign. That made me the happiest!! I DO love looking at Air Jordan's and they are absolutely BEAUTIFUL!

This movie about sports and sport clothes was brilliantly done due to the fact that everyone in it felt free to be very natural.

Some reviewers don't like that we never see Michael Jordan's face. I did like it. He is FAR too well-known to be played by an actor. AND this movie really wan't about him, per se. It was very much about his mother and what she did not only for him, but for everyone in sports.

This is a movie for everyone. ENJOY!!

Really, really loved this movie. I know it's become a bit of an overused adage nowadays but this feels like the kind of movie we just don't get anymore.

I've missed Ben Affleck as a director so much. I've liked every movie he's directed so far (even Live By Night) and this movie shows just how capable he is behind the camera. His directing is a big part of the reason why this film is as captivating as it is. He never just reverts to simple shot/reverse shot between actors during these long dialogue scenes but instead keeps the characters moving and energetic and it keeps the scenes visually interesting. Its also extremely well edited with the film being kept at a brisk pace with a runtime that feels just right for this story.

But the dialogue here is unbelievable. It's consistently sharp and witty throughout and it keeps the conversations engaging without ever being showy or overwritten. As much as I love Aaron Sorkin dialogue his scenes can often come across as words written by a professional screenwriter rather than genuine interactions between characters but that's not the case here at all. But Air does what Sorkin scripts like the Social Network and Moneyball do extremely successfully and take very non-cinematic subject matters and makes them riveting, captivating watches.

I was a bit mixed on Affleck's choice to never directly show Michael Jordan on screen. I understand the creative choice but the attempts to hide Jordan on screen often came across as more distracting than I think it would've been had Jordan just been portrayed as an actual character by an actor giving a performance.

But overall this was a great watch. I'm so glad Amazon are giving this a full theatrical release because it deserves to be seen on the big screen and I sincerely hope this is a sign of things to come not just from Amazon but streamers as a whole.

Nike are now synonymous with sports and sportswear, and Adidas's great rivals, however it wasn't always that way and this little film explains how they did it.

This film started off as a made for streaming movie, small(ish) in scale and with a decent but not spectacular budget. However the casting of Matt Damon and Ben Affleck (both in front of and behind the camera) really brought it up to another level. Whilst the final result still feels like a glorified TV movie, Damon is excellent as usual and for once Affleck doesn't seem to be punching above his weight as an actor. This is actually a very well made and acted film, although the slight story may not be to everyone's taste.

Viola Davis and Julius Tannon also turn in a good performances as Michael Jordan's devoted parents. There are also solid turns from Chris Tucker (looking a few pounds heavier than the last time I saw him in anything worthwhile) and Jason Bateman amongst others.

It's an interesting subject matter and I enjoyed the soundtrack too (many 80s songs of my youth) although it does have a lot of swearing so may not be appropriate for all. Ben Affleck is a very capable director and this is another good movie from him. If you enjoyed more recent biopic films like 'The Founder' and 'Steve Jobs' then you should enjoy this.