Air
★★★★
Good actors in rooms, spouting out well-written dialogue about sports... Air is a movie that was tailored-made for me. I'm glad this movie has garnered such a positive response because it's hard to get people to actively go see a movie that doesn't involve a superhero with special effects. I don't want to take away from the fun of this movie, but it seems like Ben Affleck is not taking a huge swing because the Nike and Jordan brands are baked into our psyches. As an audience, we ultimately know there is going to be a happy ending. Even though that seems like a cheat, the pitter-patter between the characters is both humorous and engrossing.
At the core, this is an underdog story, and despite your familiarity with the story, it becomes fun to root for all the characters. The majority of this movie falls on Matt Damon's shoulder and he does a tremendous job of getting you to root for a man who is essentially a loner. With the dramatic retelling of this story, it's hard not to wonder what's true or not. And though it elevates all those who worked at Nike, Air does a great job of pointing out the faults of this fallible men. You don't have to know or love sports to enjoy this movie. It could be enhanced by that knowledge for sure, but no matter the context, it's always inspiring to know that taking chances can pay off.
