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‘Air’ Review: The Game Changers

In Ben Affleck’s enjoyable movie, Matt Damon stars as the Nike exec who’s trying to sign a young Michael Jordan. But first he must contend with Viola Davis.

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By Manohla Dargis

It’s ridiculous how entertaining “Air” is given that it’s about shoes, even if it works overtime to persuade you that it’s also about other, nobler truths, too. Mind you, the pair that Nike presented to Michael Jordan in a 1984 meeting were custom. The company wanted badly to sign Jordan to an endorsement deal, so it created black-and-red high tops with a white midsole and a multimillion-dollar sweetener. Jordan may have preferred Adidas, but he soon laced up for Nike, changing footwear, sports stardom and athletic marketing forever.

Directed by Ben Affleck, the frothily amusing and very eager-to-please “Air” tells the oft-told tale of how Nike signed Jordan to a contract that made each astonishingly rich. Yet while the man and the money are inevitably central to this deeply American story, both remain strategically obscured. Jordan (Damian Young) is shown only in teasing partial view, his face concealed (you see the real Jordan in archival images), an initially distracting decision that grows less gimmicky and seems more natural as the story shifts focus toward virtuous, less fungible human values like love, genius, grit, perseverance, righteousness and faith.

The movie’s principal true believer is Sonny Vaccaro (Matt Damon). (Like most of the main characters, Vaccaro is based on, and named after, a real person , though the actual Sonny is far juicier than he is here.) A vision in beige with a beeper attached to his belt, his belly spilling over that same belt, Sonny is a familiar, cartoonish sad-sack, a figure right out of Mike Judge’s “Office Space.” He’s divorced and still unattached, and his workaholic habits don’t bode well for romance. He routinely buys his nightly dinner at the local convenience store, making small talk with the clerk, then eats alone while staring at the TV or, in his case, side-by-side sets.

The story heats up when Sonny and his colleagues at Nike start looking at the latest N.B.A. draftees to sign. Nike doesn’t want to spend much, so most of its execs are scouring the lower picks. But Sonny has a gift for spotting talent, and he’s aiming high: Jordan, the 21-year-old who’s left college early and whose moves he studies on smeary tape. Not everyone can read the future or see talent like Sonny, and much of the movie involves his wooing of two notably different dealmakers and breakers: Phil Knight (an amusing Affleck), Nike’s preening co-founder and chief executive, and Jordan’s mother, Deloris (a sensational Viola Davis).

Written by Alex Convery, “Air” nicely hits the sweet spot between light comedy and lighter drama that’s tough to get right. It’s funny, but its generous laughs tend to be low-key and are more often dependent on their delivery than on the actual writing. Damon is crucial to selling the humor. He’s packed on weight for the role, and he gives the character a stolid, tamped-down physicality, but he also lets you see the eddies of anger and frustration raging under the character’s skin. Sonny is put-upon and dejected, but he’s quick witted and doesn’t suffer fools (or Knight), and his patience has already been worn perilously thin when the story opens.

Waiting for Sonny to explode helps build the comic tension; watching him try to sign Jordan creates the relatively less punchy drama. Some of the juiciest laughs come from Sonny’s interactions with the gnomic Knight, a showboating supporting role that Affleck embraces with a sly, vacant deadpan and tragically unhip styling. Affleck knows how to steal scenes, and he pilfers a few, but he’s a very good and generous director of actors. He’s loaded up “Air” with terrific supporting players, including Jason Bateman and Chris Tucker, who, as Nike suits, add distinct flavor and some brilliant contrapuntal timing to the mix.

Along with Damon, the movie’s other M.V.P. is Davis, whose beautifully modulated performance helps deepen the story and expand its emotional palette. Davis is often called on to go big in her roles, to let the emotion and snot flow, so it’s a pleasure watching her hold back and change it up with lapidary, minimalist precision. Like Damon, she gives her character a palpable physical solidity, but Deloris is entirely comfortable, at ease in her body and in the world, and she’s in charge. You only read her face when she wants. Michael is the star of this world, but it’s Deloris who exerts the family’s greatest gravitational force.

Affleck handles all the story’s many parts gracefully, mostly by keeping them continually spinning. There’s a lot of walking-and-talking both in offices and in halls, which never gets dull largely because of who’s doing the walking and talking. What they’re chattering about is critical, even if the movie has distilled the hard-charging, world-shifting, sometimes (oftentimes!) ethically challenged business of professional sports into a group of really nice, funny, well-meaning personalities and one not-as-nice agent, David Falk (Chris Messina), a trash-talking, phone-smashing, profane motormouth right out of HBO’s “Entourage.”

“Air” is enjoyably facile and light as a feather, though sometimes touching, never more so than in a late, deftly handled face-off between Sonny and Deloris that brings the larger racial stakes of the landmark deal into crystalline focus. Here, as elsewhere, the movie deviates from the historical record — including the sometimes divergent , widely published accounts — to make a richer, heftier, more meaningful story. As Affleck cuts back and forth between Sonny and Deloris, filling the screen with close-ups that let you track every rivulet of emotion, it’s hard not to be moved, including by the sight of these exceptional actors who, with heart and talent, ever so briefly turn a story about capitalism into a referendum on the soul of a nation.

Air Rated R for language. Running time: 1 hour 52 minutes. In theaters.

Manohla Dargis is the chief film critic of The Times, which she joined in 2004. She has an M.A. in cinema studies from New York University, and her work has been anthologized in several books. More about Manohla Dargis

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‘air’ review: ben affleck’s ode to michael jordan is affectionate and involving, even when it fails to convince.

The 'Argo' actor/director stars alongside Matt Damon and Viola Davis in this feature about the creation of Nike's Air Jordan shoe.

By Lovia Gyarkye

Lovia Gyarkye

Arts & Culture Critic

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Ben Affleck ’s Air operates in a respectful and deeply reverential register when it comes to its subject, his family and the sport in which he made his legacy. The film, which premiered at SXSW , chronicles the tense Nike campaign to sign Michael Jordan, then an NBA rookie, to his first sneaker deal in 1984. That contract, closed a year before the first Air Jordans were sold to the public, changed Nike’s reputation and altered the way players negotiated brand deals.

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For most audiences, Air will be worth seeing just for the starry cast — particularly the reunion between Damon and Affleck. Their scenes possess a kinetic and intimate dynamism that the rest of the film approaches but doesn’t always match. The old friends are magnetic as Sonny — who’s in charge of the company’s flailing basketball division — and Phil try to take Nike to the next level. (Before signing Jordan, the shoe company held a meager 17 percent of the market compared to competitors Adidas and Converse.) Their conversations take place in Phil’s appropriately retro office (the production design is by François Audouy) and offer insights into how both executives tried to balance the imagination of Nike’s scrappy roots alongside its corporate ambitions.

Phil and Sonny’s divergent ideologies come to a head when Sonny proposes putting all of the fledgling division’s money on Michael Jordan. The boss disagrees, and he’s not the only skeptic. His colleagues Howard White (Chris Tucker), Rob Strasser ( Jason Bateman ) and George Raveling (Marlon Wayans), one of Jordan’s coaches at the 1984 Olympics, all try to dissuade him. The dynamics within this group of coworkers and friends offer most of the film’s comedic relief while also helping us deepen our understanding of Nike’s philosophy. When they are later joined by Peter Moore (Matthew Maher), Nike’s creative director, the film applies — wonderfully — the poetic reverence usually reserved for portraying the sport in these types of dramas to the process of designing a shoe.

Sonny isn’t one to take no for an answer or ignore his instincts. After a crucial call with Jordan’s agent, David Falk (a hilarious Chris Messina ), Sonny flies from Oregon to North Carolina to court Jordan’s parents. Deloris (Davis) and James (Julius Tennon) turn out to be a tougher crowd than Sonny anticipated. They are immune to his salesman charm and unfazed by his dramatic entrance onto their property. Deloris, especially, demands a quiet respect, which Sonny, in awe, gives her.

And those experiences matter. Sonny and Deloris are bound by a profound and unwavering belief in Jordan, but, as she suggests during one conversation, his strong sense of self is a product of the lessons she has taught him. It’s Deloris’ and her son’s understanding of their worth that leads them to negotiate a contract giving Jordan a percentage of the revenue from Air Jordan sales.

Beneath the sentimentalism of Air are hints of an even more compelling thread: How do you compensate people in a society organized around corporate greed? The film’s third act highlights and circles the notion of equity. Jordan’s contract changed the way players made money from brand deals. A note right before the closing credits informs us that Sonny would play a critical role in taking on the N.C.A.A. and helping college athletes get paid for commercial use of their likeness. All of this feels prescient considering Affleck’s recent venture: Last year, he and Damon started Artists Equity , a production company that operates on a profit-sharing model in hopes of creating better deals for everyone employed to make movies. It makes Air feel like a letter of admiration — to Jordan, his family, the tenacious execs at Nike — and a statement of Affleck’s future intentions.

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I have subscribed to ScreenIt for more than a decade. I check in every week to take advantage of their amazing services. Not only does their site provide a glimpse of exactly what content a movie offers, I've found the “Our Take” reviews and ratings for each movie to be right on the money every single time. I've referred dozens of friends to this service because my #1 resource for deciding whether or not to show a movie to my kids, or to see one myself, is ScreenIt.com! Josh Nisbet Director, State of CA Public Sector

I signed up to get Screen It weekly reviews a long time ago, when my kids were young and I wanted to know more about movies before we went to a theater or rented. Now one child is in law school, other in undergraduate, and I still read the weekly Screen Its! It helps me know what my husband and I want to see or rent, and what to have waiting at home that we all will enjoy when my "kids" come home. I depend on Screen It reviews. They usually just present the facts and let me decide if the movie is appropriate or of interest for my family and me. Thank you for providing that service, Screen It! Patti Petree Winston Salem, NC

I have 4 children who are now in college. I signed up for Screen It when my children were pre-teenagers. Often my children would ask to see a movie with a friend and I wished I could preview the movie prior to giving permission. A friend told me about ScreenIt.com and I found it to be the next best thing to previewing a movie. The amount of violence, sexual content, or language were always concerns for me and my husband as we raised innocent kids with morals. We constantly fought the peer pressure our kids received to see films that in our opinion were questionable. With the evidence we received at Screen It, our kids couldn't even fight us when we felt a film may have been inappropriate for them to watch. Thank you, Screen It. Continue to make this helpful service available to everyone, but especially the young parents. Christine Doherty Machesney Park, IL

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Focus on the Family Movie Reviews, Empowering Families with Pre-Screening Insights

I n a world infused with relentless media and entertainment options, many parents find themselves adrift in a sea of movies, struggling to discern which ones align with their values and are suitable for their children. That’s where Focus on the Family steps in, offering a lighthouse for those navigating the treacherous waters of Hollywood productions. This evangelical group, with its diverse initiatives and meticulous review process, becomes a valuable compass for families striving to cultivate wholesome entertainment choices.

Understanding Focus on the Family

Established in 1977, Focus on the Family is a non-profit, evangelical entity rooted in the United States, with a mission to nurture and shield families across the globe. It represents a fortress of family values and is closely aligned with the American Christian right. Beyond their well-known projects like the Adventures in Odyssey radio show, Focus on the Family ventures into varied domains, including political advocacy and, notably, movie reviews through their website, Plugged In.

Despite their expansive influence, the organization has not been without controversy and criticism, with accusations of research manipulation and unwavering support for contentious figures like Mel Gibson during the dispute surrounding The Passion of the Christ.

A Guiding Light in Entertainment: Plugged In

Plugged In, the entertainment review arm of Focus on the Family, casts a discerning eye over a myriad of mainstream entertainment forms. The site features comprehensive evaluations of cinematic releases, TV shows, music, and more, serving as a beacon for families in search of morally upright entertainment.

Decoding the Structure of Reviews

Each movie review on Plugged In is meticulously crafted, encompassing seven crucial segments. It begins with an insightful introduction to the film’s narrative, followed by an exploration of the positive elements depicted, such as expressions of humanity and altruism. The reviews then delve into sexual content, violent imagery, and the use of crude language, providing detailed accounts of each. Additionally, there’s scrutiny of other negative components like substance use, culminating in a balanced conclusion reflecting on the film’s alignment with family values.

Diving into Examples: Cloverfield and Alien vs. Predator

To grasp the essence of Focus on the Family’s approach, consider their reviews of films like “Cloverfield” and “Alien vs. Predator.” The former is acknowledged for portraying commitment and sacrifice but criticized for its violence, subtle sexual content, and profanity. The latter, meanwhile, is rebuked for its harsh violent content, with its PG-13 rating deemed unsuitable by the organization.

Empowering Families with Pre-Screening Insights

For those who find resonance with the perspectives of Focus on the Family, Plugged In emerges as a significant time and sanity saver. By relying on their thoughtful analyses, parents can bypass the ordeal of pre-screening every piece of media their children consume, avoiding exposure to undesirable content and ensuring a harmonious entertainment experience.

Conclusion:

Focus on the Family, with its multifaceted endeavors and dedicated movie review platform, Plugged In, serves as a reliable guide for families navigating the extensive and often perplexing realm of entertainment. By offering nuanced, value-based insights into Hollywood’s myriad productions, the organization empowers parents to make informed, values-aligned entertainment choices, fostering a more harmonious and value-rich media landscape for families worldwide. Whether you’re on the lookout for enchanting tales like Peter Pan or Mary Poppins, or you’re venturing into the vast expanse of Hollywood’s offerings, Focus on the Family stands as a steadfast companion in your cinematic journey.

Focus on the Family Movie Reviews

Michael has spent years as a freelance writer and editor submitting works to several accomplished magazines as well as publishing his own works about freelancing as a business.

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There are many people who are interested in Focus on the Family movie reviews, because they can provide some guidance as to what is appropriate for their children to watch and what isn't. The organization isn't just about Mary Poppins, Peter Pan, and other family-friendly fare; they review just about every flick that comes through Hollywood.

What Is Focus on the Family?

In case you are not familiar with the non-profit organization, Focus on the Family is an evangelical group based out of the United States. It was founded in 1977, and they say that they are dedicated to nurturing and defending families worldwide. More specifically, Focus on the Family -- which is aligned with the American Christian right -- aims to protect family values.

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Focus on the Family has several arms, to speak, which work toward this common goal. The Adventures in Odyssey radio show is perhaps one of their best known projects, but they also have all sorts of other Radio Theatre and political endeavors. One such endeavor is the reviewing movies.

As with any organization aligned with the Christian right, Focus on the Family has come under fire and into controversy from several groups. In 2006, for example, FOTF founder James Dobson was accused of manipulating research data that said gays and lesbians are not good parents. They naturally denied this allegation. Focus on the Family also fully supported Mel Gibson when the latter was accused of anti-Semitic content in relation to The Passion of the Christ .

Plugged In is a website of Focus on the Family and they offer reviews of just about any kind of mass market entertainment, including movies in theaters, video/DVD releases, music, television, and more. By and large, their reviews take on the same structure.

Parental Guidance Suggested

As a movie review site, Plugged In has an extensive library of films for you to consider. Each of the reviews is composed of seven key sections.

• Introduction : Although not labeled as such, the first paragraph or two outlines the plot summary to the film in question. You get an idea of what the movie is all about, perhaps with mention of where the film ties in to the world at large.
• Positive Elements : This is where FOTF describes what positive morals or ideas are expressed in the movie. These may include things like love for your fellow man.
• Sexual Content : They'll warn against things like scantily-clad women and sexual innuendo. Even verbal mentions of condoms and other sexual content will be described in this section.
• Violent Content : You are given a perspective on how brutal or gruesome the violence is. For horror and action films, this is probably more of a concern for parents. Chair-throwing in dramas may be mentioned here.
• Crude or Profane Language : In addition to coarse language, this section also reveals if "Jesus" or "God" are used inappropriately.
• Other Negative Elements : This serves as a catch-all for other undesirable content, like the consumption of alcohol and drugs.
• Summary : A final verdict on whether the film promotes good family values or not, citing both the good and the bad.

Example Movie Reviews

To get a sense of how the organization approaches movies, read these sample reviews.

• Cloverfield : The Focus on the Family movie review applauds Rob's dedication to Beth and his willingness to risk life and limb to save her. However, they are not pleased with the level of violence, the mild sexual content (pre-marital), and excessive use of "my God".
• Alien vs. Predator : The biggest complaint in this particular Focus on the Family movie review is that the PG-13 rating given to this classic alien movie is deemed inappropriate, given the extreme level of violence. AVP gets quite gruesome, even if the camera cuts away just in the nick of time.

Take Advantage of the Pre-Screening

If Focus on the Family seems to have the same views on movies and other media as you do, this may prove to be quite the time saver. If you trust their guidance, you'll no longer have to screen everything your kids want to watch (and in turn, you don't have to see or hear things you would prefer not to).

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Take a minute to hear a family-friendly review of the hottest movie, YouTube video, streaming series, video game, or new technology to help you decide if it’s a good choice for your kids and family. Hosted by Focus on the Family’s media and culture analysts, these reviews for parents offer a fresh Christian perspective on entertainment from a Biblical worldview.

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Plugged In is Trying to Protect You!!!!

I know that many viewers out there don’t care about Plugged In and think they are trying to boss you around. NEWSFLASH: They are not!! They are only trying to protect you and your family. If you see a movie that is 0 stars, I think you know that that is a movie you do NOT want to take your kids to. If you have seen one, (which I HIGHLY recommend you don’t) you probably know that is not a great movie. Plugged In has reasons to rate these badly rated movies (violence, language, nudity etc.). Yes, people curse in real life, but I believe they don’t mention it because they want you to read the review. Another possible reason is that they want to protect kids who may not know what a bad word is. But the point is, this podcast wants your family to get the best out of a film in a cinema, and generally protect your early teens, younger kids, maybe even yourself. Some movies(I will chose not to mention them) are so bad that Plugged In doesn’t even rate them!!! So I encourage you to listen to these podcasts and look at the website and PLEASE take the time to see how they rate a movie before you go see it at the cinema.

Great reviews loved

Great podcast!!!

You got to check plugged in before you watch a movie. I mean, really, who wants to watch a bad movie? You can check any new movie through a Christian lens. Plugged in will let you know if there’s any cussing or murrdering, and will give you a 1-5 star rating Example: "spider-man into the spiderverse” has 4 out of 5 stars for family friendliness. So I’ll give plugged in 5 out of 5 stars.

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‘The Shack’: Must-See Movie, or Stay Away?

Tim Tebow liked it.

“Fixer Upper” stars Chip and Joanna Gaines recommend it.

But blogger Tim Challies refuses to even see it.

I’m talking about “The Shack,” the film adaptation of the 2007 novel of the same name, which is reviving the controversy around William P. Young’s bestselling book about a grieving father who encounters the Holy Trinity … in human form.

The movie debuted in theaters across the nation last Friday, making a very respectable $16.1 million during its first weekend.

So what does Focus on the Family’s media discernment team think about “The Shack”? I hope you’ll head over to PluggedIn.com and read our team’s complete, in-depth review of the movie .

I’m curious to hear from you: Did you watch “The Shack” this weekend? If so, what did you think? And if you’re staying away from the film, I’m curious to know why. Let me know your thoughts in the comments section, below.

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‘I’ve never seen war shown like this’: film-maker captures Ukraine conflict from soldiers’ view

Jamie Roberts says his BBC Two documentary, Ukraine, Enemy in the Woods, aims to show a true picture of the frontline

F or all the coverage of war in Ukraine , it is rare to see it from the point of view of soldiers on the front. But by asking Ukrainians to wear cameras on their helmets as they face down relentless Russian attacks, Jamie Roberts’s BBC Two documentary has captured the bloody reality of a conflict increasingly forgotten in the west.

The director says the intimate and harrowing film, Ukraine, Enemy in the Woods, was conceived as a response to war fatigue. But, if anything, the grim and often unheroic struggle in the frozen forest north-west of Kupyansk emphasises the sheer level of human loss that Ukraine is suffering in defence of its homeland.

Roberts spent seven weeks with the Berlingo company in November and December last year to make the film, which will be broadcast on Monday night. During that time the 99-strong force lost 10 people, with another 66 wounded so seriously they could no longer fight – a casualty rate of 76%.

“You can go online and see reams of graphic violence on social media like Telegram, but it all has zero context. Our aim was to show a true picture of what is happening, showing the humanity, the relationships of the soldiers. I have never seen war shown like this; when you see it on the news, it often seems under control,” Roberts said.

It took several weeks for Roberts to find the Berlingo company. Although several Ukrainian units were willing to work with the BBC film-maker, by the time he got out to meet them in the field “often they had been decimated, wrecked” by having taken too many casualties. Large units were often reduced to 15% of full strength.

An unforgettable sequence towards the end of the documentary is taken from the point of view of Vovan, a company commander, his shortened breathing a constant accompaniment to the battle scenes that follow. The film has no narration, so the action and accompanying interviews bear the weight of the story.

Contact with the next foxhole has been lost – a lot of the time, Roberts said, the soldiers are simply trying to find out what is happening. Vovan heads out looking for his buddies, call signs Fury and Adidas. First he finds several dead Russians, evidence of a firefight, then a nervy search of the foxhole reveals his dead comrades.

Vovan helps in putting their bodies on to stretchers, but there is further gunfire and evidence, presumably from a drone, that there is at least one living Russian soldier nearby. The Ukrainian stalks towards a depression in the ground, where there is some movement ahead, and he twice unloads his clip, killing him.

It is a carefully edited scene, not gory despite what is depicted, and it captures the reality of the combat: isolated, fragmentary and grim. Roberts justifies showing it, arguing “we martialled it carefully. This is not graphic violence for graphic violence’s sake. This is not a war of stalemate; huge numbers of people are being killed daily”.

Vovan reflects on the episode in the documentary and hints these encounters will remain with him a long time: “We killed a lot of people. [But] it was all negative because we lost our brothers in arms. It was very, how can I put it, very nerve-shredding. My head was full of everything and I needed to unload it.”

An obvious conclusion to draw is that fighting in the remote landscape is pointless. But despite the casualties they are taking, the Ukrainians filmed talk of the necessity of holding back the Russians, their hopes for a democratic future, and in the words of a combat medic, Natalia, the only woman filmed, of finding a home after the war to renovate and to “adopt more dogs, lots of dogs”.

The documentary makes clear that the Russian invaders are taking far greater numbers of casualties in the battle for the forest, “between three and 10 to one”, Roberts estimated. Often they are poorly trained, unwisely massing in large groups, but while a couple are shown captured, very few surrender.

Even so, for the Ukrainian defenders there is very little respite, and their supplies of weaponry are increasingly short, in a conflict that appears without end. This is not a film that could or would have been made in the first 18 months of the war, Roberts says. Having spent seven weeks working daily a few miles from the frontline, he now believes President Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s recent statement that 31,000 Ukrainians had been killed in the war is almost certainly an underestimate.

More on this story

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