REVIEW: Air (Opens April 19)

Here’s my review for Air directed by Ben Affleck and stars Matt Damon, Ben Affleck, Viola Davis, Chris Tucker, Jason Bateman, Marlon Wayans and more! Opens April 19 from Warner Bros Pictures PH!

It’s really a simple premise that was executed really well and tells the story of how we got the famous Air Jordan shoes from Nike.

CASTING

The cast isn’t just great, they all have their moments and but I tip my hat to Matt Damon and Viola Davis. Those two together show a wide range of emotion plus a good dose of sincerity in their performance.

I liked a number of camera shots they used to make the scenes more dynamic from that circular shot with the Nike boys to that weird angle they use when to frame Damon’s close up. There are a number of shots they use that goes super close but moves a little back so that it frames the face including the eyes and the nose and it’s side view. I haven’t seen that in a while, it was fresh for me and I get what they wanted to convey with that shot. It’s those little things that make Ben Affleck such a great director.

Man I wanted more of Viola Davis as Deloris Jordan. She exudes maternal vibes that makes all her lines believable as Michael Jordan‘s mother. We’re nowhere near the Amanda Waller levels we’re used to seeing whenever Davis’ is in the scene. She did a great job with the lines, the right delivery, the right tone. Everything is great.

What I’m not used to seeing is a well-mannered, mellow Chris Tucker.

Ofcourse a hat tip to Ben Affleck as Phil Knight aka Shoe Dog, the founder of Nike.

MUSIC and OST

I also massively appreciated the musical choices that they used for the film. There’s a ton of great songs from the 80s that really worked well in this.  Here are the songs from the soundtrack:

“Money for Nothing” – Dire Straits
“Blister in the Sun” – Violent Femmes
“Ain’t Nobody” – Chaka Khan
“Sister Christian” – Night Ranger
“All I Need is a Miracle” – Mike + The Mechanics
“Born in the U.S.A.” – Bruce Springsteen
“Sirius” – The Alan Parsons Project
“Rock the Casbah” – The Clash
“My Adidas” – Run-D.M.C.
“In a Big Country” – Big Country
“Tempted” – Squeeze
“Time After Time” – Cyndi Lauper
“Can’t Fight This Feeling” – REO Speedwagon

Some worked extremely well including the very montage-friendly “Time After Time”. And I wouldn’t have it any other way.

PLOT and PACING

The plot’s standard but I’m really surprised at how it captures the audience although it may not be for everybody and I’m already speculating that some people would leave the theater disappointed because there’s NO Michael Jordan in this flick. But it the conception of the Air Jordan is something interesting plus the aftermath is also one thing that’s worth the ticket price.

VERDICT

Watching the film also made me think of an alternate reality where Adidas or Converse got Michael Jordan and how that would have shaped the world. Fun thought experiment.

Overall, AIR is a tight movie. Might not be for everybody but for fans of the Nike line, the Air Jordan line, Michael Jordan himself, you get a kick watching this flick. Highly recommended. Again, might not be for everybody but fanboys will enjoy this.

9/10

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