I was initially drawn to this movie to see Matt Damon and Ben Affleck working together again. I knew virtually nothing about the story and, honestly, didn’t even know there was a story behind the Air Jordans. And while I enjoyed seeing the story play out, I think this movie’s strengths are in its vibe more than its plot. 

The plot mechanics themselves are fairly basic: someone has a revolutionary idea and has to put everything on the line to convince others to see their vision. Whether you know the history or not, I think almost everyone knows how popular Air Jordans have been and still are today, so you know there’s a happy ending. But the specifics of how they went about telling the story are what made the movie so great to me. It was feel-good, funny, and overall entertaining. Seeing this in a theater, there were moments that had the whole theater laughing and inspirational speeches that had everyone gripped. Ben Affleck’s performance leaned way more towards the comedic side while Viola Davis brought a gravitas to the movie just by being onscreen. Matt Damon and Jason Bateman both hovered more in the middle, getting both humorous and poignant moments. Finding the right balance between these two sides is what made the movie so enjoyable. There were only a few instances where it felt like it crossed too far into the wacky or saccharine but, for the most part, it managed to strike it just right.

Another element that added to the viewing experience was the full immersion into the 1980s. Everything from the fashion, the music, and the technology to the visual style of the film itself was specifically curated to the 80s aesthetic. Some of it was played for intentional visual and explicit jokes in the film, while other aspects were just for scene-setting. I especially loved the soundtrack and really felt like it added to the fun of the movie.

My only small criticisms of the film were 1) some of the dialogue felt overly expositional and 2) I had some issues with the decision not to include Michael Jordan in the story. This is a choice that has gotten a lot of publicity with the film’s release and has been addressed by the filmmakers multiple times and I mostly agree with them. This story is not really about him. At least not him as a person or him as a basketball player. This story is about a company and a business and Michael’s mother. I think not having Michael involved at all actually really underlines how, as a kid in his late teens/early twenties, he wouldn’t care about all the business aspects behind these deals. All he cares about is looking cool and getting a car. It makes perfect sense that his mom would take charge in negotiating and handling things on his behalf. The filmmakers have also said that Michael Jordan is such a large and infamous figure that no young actor could really capture that. In scenes in the film where Michael does appear, there is an actor present but he has no dialogue and is only shot from behind or in ways that cut off his face. My only issue with the exclusion of Michael is that in these scenes, they cut around the actor’s face so intentionally, it was almost distracting from what was happening in the story. 

I’ve also seen some criticisms of the movie saying that it celebrates capitalism and big corporations “winning” in the end. However, I didn’t read it that way. I didn’t walk away thinking “Thank god Nike was able to stay in business and make a lot of money as a company.” I walked away thinking “It’s crazy how these things that are so commonplace in our life (like Air Jordans) started as someone’s wild idea that they had to fight to make happen.” I think the movie celebrates creativity, ingenuity, and disruption. I’ve often thought about how I would love to be able to have an idea that revolutionizes an industry or just turns the typical way of doing something on its head. So many of the most successful ideas seem so obviously smart now, in retrospect. But in the moment, you do your best to think outside the box but it seems nearly impossible to have an idea to do something that’s never been done before. And despite a world history of revolutionary ideas, it’s not any easier to say “I know this has always been done this way, but what if we did it this way instead?” and have others support that change. But more than anything, the movie left me wondering about how these major breakthroughs happen and what it would be like to be a part of one.

I would definitely recommend this movie. It’s a good time and fun to watch. It’s not too serious or overly complicated. It’s just a straightforward, entertaining, feel-good movie with great actors doing what they do best.

2023 Count: 6 seasons, 21 movies