Success stories aren’t known until after the facts have been accepted and people can look back to see a natural progression of steps to success. AIR is the story of the game-changing partnership between Michael Jordan and Nike that led to the globally recognized Air Jordan shoe line.
This film marks the first time Ben Affleck has directed his longtime friend and collaborator, Matt Damon. Affleck also plays Nike co-founder Phil Knight who has brought Sonny Vaccaro, played by Damon, into the company in order to grow the shoe company’s basketball business. The all-star cast includes Viola Davis as Michael Jordan’s mother Deloris who fiercely advocated for her son, played a pivotal role in negotiating this deal that was the first of its kind, and without a doubt was committed to ensuring her son’s legacy.
Other acclaimed faces include Jason Bateman, Chris Messina, Marlon Wayans, Chris Tucker, Matthew Maher, Gustaf Skarsgård, Julius Tennon, among others.
Taking audiences back to Nike headquarters in 1984, the first trailer for AIR paints a picture of the company in dire straits of “sales are down, growth is down.” It’s a tough market to be in at the time with Nike seen as a brand with nothing cool about it.
From what’s shown so far in the trailers, the comedic elements of the film will be in line with the dry wit and deadpan delivery that Bateman is known for, and Damon is a perfect dialogue partner to play off of. Damon is also more than capable to deliver the inspirational lines as well as he clashes with Affleck’s Knight over business decisions.
The repeated lines of “motoring” from the Night Ranger song Sister Christian perfectly accompanies the gradual increases in the trailer’s intensity as Deloris Jordan and Sonny Vaccaro exchange words over the impact Michael Jordan will have on what makes a shoe more than a shoe, before the film title for AIR appears.
AIR will be exclusively in theaters worldwide April 5, 2023 before its release in over 240 countries and territories on Prime Video.
