A shoe is a shoe. Until Michael Jordan puts him on. The combination of sporting goods and basketball star from the 80s has consequences worth billions to this day.
There are athletes who write human history far beyond their physical performance. Muhammad Ali and Pelé, for example, did that as boxers and footballers. Steffi Graf or Serena Williams in tennis. The American Michael Jordan is not only celebrated as probably the best basketball player, he has also ventured into spheres worth billions as an advertising medium for the shoe manufacturer Nike.
Director Ben Affleck (“Argo”) uses this symbiosis as a template for his film “Air – The Great Throw”. The end is known. And yet the film manages to keep up the tension along the way.
Not a superstar yet
The story takes place in the early 80’s. At that time it was not a matter of course that stars of whatever kind had their own products or shaped entire lines. In addition, those involved here were still at the beginning. Although Jordan was considered extremely talented, he had not yet played in the top US league NBA. Nike’s basketball division was not getting off to a good start. Worse still for the shoe manufacturers in the Oregon province: Jordan didn’t like Nike.
So a lot of convincing for the PR team around Sonny Vaccaro (Matt Damon), Howard White (Chris Tucker) and Rob Strasser (Jason Bateman). It’s a glorious role for Damon. He lets the basketball nerd Vaccaro evaluate video cassettes all night long in search of the player for an advertising campaign, borrows from Martin Luther King for more power of persuasion and – equipped with plenty of extra pounds – braces himself against the fitness craze of the 80s.
An opponent sits in his own house: Nike boss Phil Knight, played by Affleck with a purple Porsche and breathing exercises for self-discovery, initially resists putting the entire advertising budget on one player.
In addition, the competition is also courting the young athlete. Adidas, for example, in distant Germany. In a short appearance worth seeing, Barbara Sukowa as Käthe Dassler packs large parts of the US view of the company with family quarrels and the Nazi past.
There is no way around the mother
But another woman is pulling the strings: Deloris Jordan, Michael’s mother. There is no way of negotiating past her. Viola Davis plays the role with the necessary mix of professional detachment and empathetic concern: “A shoe is just a shoe – until my son puts it on.” This shoe is created in the Nike catacombs and will be found on countless feet worldwide for decades and to this day – Air Jordan.
What about the main character in this film? “His Airness” Michael Jeffrey Jordan doesn’t actually feature. He himself can only be seen briefly. In video sequences that run on tube televisions. Historical game scenes, moderate quality. His roll of film only scurries along the edge of the picture. Or appears briefly as a faceless figure from behind. It’s not much more, it’s not a Jordan story. This is also good for the film.
Air – The Big Throw, USA 2023, 112 minutes, FSK from 6, by Ben Affleck, with Matt Damon, Ben Affleck, Jason Bateman, Chris Messina, Marlon Wayans, Chris Tucker, Viola Davis
(dpa)