Air: Courting a Legend review: Best film of 2023 so far

Following in the footsteps of the underappreciated The Last Duel in 2021, Air: Courting a Legend is another excellent onscreen reunion for Matt Damon and Ben Affleck.

In 1984, Nike is struggling to keep pace with Adidas and Converse. Nike basketball scout Sonny Vacarro (Damon) has struggled to land quality players but believes he’s found the holy grail in Michael Jordan. Sonny’s idea is to take the money budgeted for the basketball division and funnel all of the money toward one player. Not only does Sonny need to convince Nike, but he needs to convince Jordan who doesn’t even want the meeting. In order to reach Jordan, Sonny reaches out to the one person who has Michael’s ear, his mother, Deloris (Viola Davis).

Alex Convery‘s terrific script is full of explosive dialogue exchanges. While not quite as rhythmic as Aaron Sorkin‘s Moneyball, Air: Courting a Legend is a wonderful look at the business of sports. Air is a change of pace for Affleck as a director. His restrained approach behind the lens allows the fantastic cast to shine. Damon, Davis and Affleck deliver dependably great performances. However, it’s Chris Tucker as Howard White, Jason Bateman as Rob Strasser and Chris Messina as Jordan’s agent David Falk who steal nearly every scene.

Affleck and Convery also make a wise call to not feature Jordan. He’s very much a focus of the film, but his absence turns Michael into an Everest-type figure. He’s an impossible goal that Vacarro is trying to reach. Putting him onscreen would make that goal more tangible.

The only issue with Air is some of the conflicts are resolved off-screen. There’s a moment in the film where Phil Knight is weighing whether to cancel the meeting with Jordan. Sonny made promises to Jordan that Knight was unaware of. Air never shows Knight’s process. Nor does the Air really delve into the decision-making process with Michael’s family.

However, Air: Courting a Legend pulsates with an undeniable underdog mentality that makes it the best film of 2023 so far.

With the overview out of the way, let’s dive deeper into Nike’s landmark 1984 deal. Air: Courting a Legend is an Amazon Studios film

The Gamblers in Air: Courting a Legend

Vacarro’s battles with Knight (Affleck) and Strasser (Bateman) are the strongest sources of conflict in the film. Before MJ enters the picture, he wants Nike to be more aggressive in recruiting players.

Knight, one of the most prominent risk-takers in business, has suddenly become more risk-averse. Nike is now public which means Knights answers to an omniscient board. Vacarro wants Knight to increase the budget so they can sign more players. Unfortunately, Vacarro’s recruitment of players hasn’t produced much in the way of results. In these battles with Knight, Vaccaro comes across as gallant.

The interactions with Strasser reveal the darker side of Vacarro’s passion. Once Vacarro makes the unilateral decision to go all in on Jordan. He goes behind Strasser, Knight and MJ’s agent Falk’s back to talk to MJ’s mother. Once he’s pot-committed, Nike can’t back out. The risks are far more personal for Strasser. As a divorced father, one of the things his daughter love are the Nike shoes he brings home. If Vacarro’s decision doesn’t pay off, then the whole basketball division goes away and that includes eliminating the ability for Strasser to support his family.

Damon does a great job of making Vacarro come across as sympathetic. This desperate sort of persistence can come across as unlikeable. Somehow, Damon finds the right balance.

Nike’s gamble

If MJ’s sole hurdle over signing with Nike was money, then that would be a pretty big issue and it’s a problem. Nike has a specific budget allotted for multiple athletes in a given sport. For basketball, the annual budget is $250,000 for all players. Vaccaro has to convince Phil to allocate the entire marketing budget for MJ. A player who wasn’t even the No.1 pick in the NBA draft.

Adding to Nike’s gamble is MJ’s lack of interest in Nike. MJ won’t even take a meeting with Nike, yet Vacarro remains committed to landing the future GOAT. All of Nike’s focus is on landing MJ. If Nike can’t convince MJ to sign, then it will be too late for Nike to sign any other rookies.

Vaccaro makes Nike’s position dire by going around Falk, MJ’s agent. Falk and Vaccaro have a fun, combative demeanor that turns poisonous. While Vacarro does get a meeting with the Jordans, Falk threatens a big stick to go along with the carrot. MJ will take the meeting but after he assuredly rejects Nike, Falk will ensure that no basketball players sign with Nike again.

The interplay between Damon and Messina as Falk is truly hilarious. Falk’s hostile demeanor works perfectly opposite the more subdued Vaccaro.

Securing MJ’s legacy

From Mj’s side, Deloris is his biggest advocate. While Mj’s offscreen aspirations are focused on Adidas, Deloris is searching for the best fit for her son. Vaccaro and Deloris are the only ones who seem to grasp MJ’s greatness. Vaccarro’s honest assessment of Converse, Adidas and Nike goes a long way with Deloris as well.

Adidas makes the best shoes currently, but an ownership shakeup means it’s not clear who is leading the company. Therefore, Adidas can’t really say whether MJ is actually a priority. Meanwhile, Converse has star NBA players like Magic Johnson and Larry Bird. However, their stilted presentation makes it clear MJ is just another player to add to the shoe company’s portfolio.

Nike’s pitch tailors everything around MJ. The shoe colors are based on the Chicago Bulls with more red used than was allowed at the time. In 1984, the NBA had a rule over how much color could be used on a shoe. The prominent color had to be white. If a player wore a shoe with too much color, then the player would be fined. Nike agreed to pay the fines for MJ.

The one blemish in Air: Courting a Legend is converting Deloris to Nike’s camp comes a little too easy.

Air: Courting a Legend final thoughts

Overall, Affleck’s latest film is a creative sports biopic that succeeds in telling a story about the GOAT without showing him onscreen.

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