Ben Affleck who plays Nike CEO Phil Knight and also directed the film answered
“A number of things, and I’m not sure that I’m at liberty to share every single one,”
When being asked what Michael Jordan wanted to be included in the movie. He continued to reiterate, “The movie is not concerned with pinning down the exact history of who did what for the Jordan deal; it is not a documentary nor a biopic.”
The movie has since gotten some flack for this from the demographic who stand outside sneaker stores on a Saturday morning, but honestly that's totally fine. The movie's aim was clearly to share some light hearted spotlight on the unsung heroes of the deal that made Nike and Jordan brand the tyrants of the basketball industry today and I think it did that perfectly.
I think something that the movie really excels at is celebrating the main themes of the movie and Nike as a brand. You see exactly what the Nike “just do it” attitude really is all about, over and over this movie shows us how a beautiful dream backed by people with sheer willpower can be manifested to impact the lives of millions of people worldwide in a positive and uniting way. It's an investigation into how pragmatisms blend with faith in a miracle.
Nike took an 18 year old kid Michael Jordan and turned him into something more than a person , he is an icon , a brand , a lifestyle and a culture. This culture is the same very reason STORY and many sneakerheads even exist today. This movie is about the people who own the birth right to sneaker culture as we know it today, we cannot ignore this simply because MJ’s face isn't in the movie. Ben Affleck honestly did an amazing job. Overall its a thrilling but chilled ride into the celebration of the 80s and the birth of Jordan Brand. Air is the type of movie that leaves you inspired and reminds you why the Air Jordan 1 is the greatest sneaker of all time.
I'm hoping that this movie starts a wave of celebrating sneaker culture on the big screen, already ‘Shoe Dog’ , a biopic centered more around Phil Knight, is confirmed by Netflix, with hopefully more to follow.
If YOU are wanting to pay homage to the GOAT on your feet, we have everything from Jordan 1s, 2s 3s to 11 at STORY. You can browse everything on our website here or come hang out with us in Cape Town at 166 Buitengracht Street to see some Jordans in person.
