Nothing but net: Matt Damon and Ben Affleck's 'Air' is a winner

A movie about a business deal seems akin to watching paint dry. That’s hardly the case with “Air,” the story of Nike’s courtship of superstar Michael Jordan and the birth of those iconic red-and-white hightops bearing his name.

Cambridge native Ben Affleck, who directs, produces and co-stars, smartly surrounds himself with a team of players that level up Alex Convery’s clever, Sorkin-esque screenplay. How’s this for a starting five: Affleck as Nike founder Phil Knight; Matt Damon as Sonny Vaccaro, the creative force behind Air Jordan; Jason Bateman as marketing guru Rob Strasser;  Chris Messina as Jordan’s agent, David Falk; and Viola Davis as Michael’s mom, Deloris. Marlon Wayans and Chris Tucker come off the bench as coach George Raveling and Nike executive Howard White, respectively.

From the opening tip, “Air” scores and scores often, beginning with a montage of 1980s touchstones (“Where's the Beef?” Cabbage Patch kids, Prince William’s birth) set to Dire Straits’ “Money for Nothing.” Affleck and his “Live by Night” cinematographer, Robert Richardson, shoot in a grainy haze to give the movie a retro feel. You’ll suddenly want your MTV too.

Affleck, an Oscar winner for directing “Argo,” makes a strong case for a second statuette with “Air,” his fifth film and the first for his and Damon’s new production company, Artists Equity.

The movie makes cursory work of Jordan, seen only in shadow, to focus more on the creative process and how a mother advocates for her son’s worth. As moms do, Deloris knew before anyone that her son is the greatest of all time.

After a series of failed signings, Damon’s Vaccaro, a pasty middle-aged gambler with a paunch, rolls the dice on Jordan. He begs for the entire $250,000 basketball-sneaker budget to be spent on the rookie from North Carolina, the third overall pick in the ’84 draft. Working against Nike is its reputation as a running shoe giant, meaning it would need to beat out basketball veterans Adidas and Converse.

“World class players don’t do third-rate shoes,” Vaccaro is told, but not what he believes. He is betting his career on one deal.

Since you probably have a shirt, hoodie or pair of kicks with the Jumpman logo, it is no spoiler to mention Nike pulled off the David-vs.-Goliath transaction. How it all went down, however, gives “Air” its triple-double.

When needed, Affleck turns up the tension with conflict between Knight’s Zen-like beliefs and Vaccaro’s gunslinger actions. It’s fun watching the Boston BFFs spar. Affleck also mines laughs from Bateman’s comedic timing and Messina’s foul-mouthed agent and has a knack for playing just the right '80s-music needle drops, from “In a Big Country” to “All I Need Is a Miracle.”

Then, he accentuates the story’s honest human interactions that make you laugh and cry.  Vaccaro and Deloris (Davis) bond during a talk over the picnic table in Jordan's backyard. She appreciates his determination.

As the deal hangs in the, well, air, Bateman delivers a meaty monologue about being a divorced dad and the sadness at the heart of Bruce Springsteen’s “Born in the USA.” Character actor Matthew Maher, who co-starred in Affleck’s “Live by Night” and “Gone Baby Gone,” is also memorable as late shoe-design genius Peter Moore.

In the years following the Jordan deal, Nike has signed myriad superstars to lucrative contracts. But it was the Air Jordan that got it off the ground and continues to keep it aloft.

'Air'

Rating: R for language throughout

Cast: Matt Damon, Ben Affleck, Jason Bateman, Chris Messina, Matthew Maher, Marlon Wayans, Chris Tucker and Viola Davis

Director: Ben Affleck

Writer:  Alex Convery

Running time: 112 minutes

Where to watch: In theaters Wednesday

Grade: A

This article originally appeared on The Patriot Ledger: Matt Damon, Ben Affleck, Viola Davis soar in Nike flick 'Air'