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Tread Softly

By Anthony Lane

Product placement is over. It’s so lame. Why smuggle an item of merchandise into a movie, like contraband, and have people snicker at the subterfuge, when you can declare your product openly and lay it on the table? Why not make a film about the merch? That was the case with “ Steve Jobs ” (2015), which unfolded the creation myth of Apple; with “ The Founder ” (2016), which did the same for McDonald’s; with “Tetris,” now on Apple TV+; with the upcoming “BlackBerry,” which is not, alas, about the harvesting of soft fruits; and with “ Joy ” (2015), which gave us our first chance—pray God it not be our last—to watch Jennifer Lawrence trying her hardest to sell mops.

The latest example of a ready-branded film is “Air,” the product on this occasion being the Air Jordan. The movie is written by Alex Convery and directed by Ben Affleck, who also appears onscreen as Phil Knight, the co-founder and C.E.O. of Nike. The company, of course, was named for a Greek goddess, which may explain why Affleck is decked out with a beard and a hair style that fell out of fashion in 438 B.C. He also gets to drive a purple Porsche and to wear pink running pants, perilously loose around the crotch. Any looser and he’d risk an NC-17 rating. Whether or not Affleck is atoning for the shame of playing Batman, in the DC franchise, it’s pretty sporting of him, in his own film, to set himself up as a comprehensive jerk.

Not that this is a sports movie. It’s not even a shoe movie. It’s a heroic saga of the marketing of a shoe. The action starts in 1984, heralded on the soundtrack by Dire Straits’s “Money for Nothing” (which actually came out the following year). Gloom prevails at Nike headquarters, in Beaverton, Oregon; basketball-shoe sales have been cornered by Converse and Adidas, leaving Nike with a meagre seventeen per cent. The task facing Sonny Vaccaro (Matt Damon), who has been charged with turning things around, is to find three players who could front a new campaign. But Vaccaro doesn’t want three players. He wants one player, and that’s Michael Jordan.

The joke is that, by every measure of human grace, the hunter and the hunted are at opposite ends of the spectrum. Jordan is Jordan, whereas Vaccaro, as incarnated by Damon, is puffing, paunchy, and clad in such anonymous tones of beige and gray that he could die at his desk, on a cloudy afternoon, and nobody would notice. Yet he does have the knack of perseverance. Thus it is that, to the Krakatoan fury of Jordan’s agent, David Falk (Chris Messina), Vaccaro shows up uninvited at the home of Jordan’s parents, James (Julius Tennon) and Deloris (Viola Davis), in North Carolina, and pleads with them to consider Nike for their son. They graciously oblige; the interested parties convene in Beaverton; the deal is done.

Give Affleck a clear story and, as he demonstrated in “The Town” (2010) and “Argo” (2012), he will stick to the beat. (Too much ambiguity unnerves him; witness the sullen bafflement of “Gone Girl,” in 2014.) “Air” is pacy, adept, and entertainingly well drilled, and his cast, which includes Jason Bateman, Chris Tucker, and Marlon Wayans, has a clubbable warmth. The scenes between Affleck and Damon, longtime friends offscreen, have a barbed geniality that finds its own rhythm; they’re most likable when they needle each other. At one remove from the club is Matthew Maher, as Peter Moore—Nike’s in-house genius, who designs the Air Jordan over a weekend. Unrushed and diffident, Moore thinks solely of the shoe, even though, as he realizes, it’s a pawn in the marketing game.

Step back from “Air,” however, and you begin to grasp how profoundly weird it is; weirder, I suspect, than Affleck knows. Observe Damon, Bateman, and Maher as they gaze upon the finished footwear, bathed in its mystical glow. They’re like shepherds in a Rembrandt Nativity, lit by the natural radiance of the Christ child. And they’re looking at a shoe . As yet, we are forbidden to see it for ourselves; the holy of holies must be guarded from our eyes. Likewise, although Michael Jordan is played by Damian Young, we never glimpse his face. He keeps his back to the camera at all times, the implication being that no mortal actor could hope to enshrine such a being. (Needless to say, there is no attempt to reconstruct Jordan’s moves on court; instead, we get vintage clips of the real thing, on TV.) You may or may not have believed in Will Smith, when he took the title role in “Ali” (2001), but at least you didn’t have to spend two and a half hours watching him from behind.

What is it with “Air,” then? “Like the old religious fetishism, with its convulsionary raptures and miraculous cures, the fetishism of commodities generates its own moments of fervent arousal.” So says the French philosopher Guy Debord in “ The Society of the Spectacle ,” his jeremiad of 1967. It is, I admit, unlikely that every viewer of Affleck’s movie will race home and dive into neo-Marxist analyses of cultural homogenization; some folks will go out for a plate of ribs and a beer. But they might, as they digest, reflect with a frown on the dramatic centerpiece of the film—a speech delivered in the interests of justice by Deloris Jordan, over the phone, to Vaccaro. Because she is played by Viola Davis, a matchless purveyor of moral determination, you can’t help recalling the sequence, in “Doubt” (2008), when Davis went head to head with Meryl Streep over the future prospects of another young man. If anything, the sequence in “Air” is yet more intense, because Davis is filmed in the tightest of closeups. And what is Deloris demanding? That her son be given a percentage of the proceeds from every Air Jordan that is sold. Believe in him, and there will be no doubt.

This movie, in short, kneels at the altar of high capitalism. It even comes with a prophecy. In Beaverton, Vaccaro tells Michael Jordan, in person, that he will be brought low, assailed, and then raised up again, because, unlike everybody else in the room, he is immortal. (Some of those tribulations are displayed in a speedy montage of flash-forwards.) The executives and agents who surround Jordan are like priests, with no visible family or home life; Vaccaro and Falk are both seen dining alone. Only once do we catch a whiff of something troubling in “Air,” when a character mentions that many of Nike’s shoes are manufactured in Taiwan and South Korea. So, does Affleck conclude his film with a wide shot of a factory floor, and of those who toil, on paltry pay, to make basketball shoes? Like hell. Rather, he ends with the revelation that Nike sold a hundred and sixty-two million dollars’ worth of Air Jordans in the first year. Hallelujah.

The new Owen Wilson film, “Paint,” is set in the present day, but only just. Written and directed by Brit McAdams, the movie takes place in and around Burlington, Vermont, and tells the tale of Carl Nargle, who is played by Wilson with a curved pipe, an explosion of frizzy blond curls, and an aura of invincible gentleness. When a friend says that her Uber has arrived, Nargle replies, “I don’t know what that is.” He hosts a show titled “Paint” on a local public-television station; daubing away, and addressing the camera, he deftly completes his pictures live on air. Most of them—and eventually all of them—depict Mt. Mansfield, the loftiest peak in the state. There’s nothing wrong with returning obsessively to one theme; could it be that Nargle is drawn toward his mountain as Bonnard was to his wife, luminously untouched by time, in the bath?

No. Nargle is not a fraud, but his creative powers are of the tiniest. And he’s a fool. Also, as it turns out, he’s a predator. Over the years, most of the women who work at the station, such as Katherine (Michaela Watkins), Wendy (Wendi McLendon-Covey), and Beverly (Lusia Strus), have slipped into his clutches—specifically, into his van, better known as the Vantastic. All of this lends a fresh and menacing overtone to the mantra with which he signs off at the end of his show: “Thank you for going to a special place with me.” What’s peculiar about McAdams’s film is the mildness of Nargle’s comeuppance. Sure, he loses his job, his spot being taken by a younger painter named Ambrosia (Ciara Renée), but it’s not too long before he rediscovers love. So dreamily forgiving is the atmosphere of the plot, in fact, that I found it downright creepy. Maybe all the characters are stoned. That would explain a lot.

“Paint” will win few friends in the arena of public broadcasting—which, the film suggests, is staffed by the semi-competent and enjoyed primarily by smiling seniors in retirement homes and boozers slumped in bars. Yet McAdams does have an eye, and an ear, for the minutiae of melancholy and provincial politesse. Listen to two lovers breaking up on CB radio (“It’s over. Over”), or Katherine wistfully pondering a change of career: “Albany has a ton to offer,” she says. “I-90 and I-87 go right through the middle of it.” As for Nargle, he seems like a refugee from a Christopher Guest film, and I can imagine him, say, as an artist-in-residence among the folksingers of “A Mighty Wind” (2003). Whether he merits a movie to himself is another matter. ♦

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Watch Air with a subscription on Prime Video.

What to Know

A fact-based drama that no one will dunk on, Air aims to dramatize events that changed the sports world forever -- and hits almost nothing but net.

Ben Affleck and a terrific cast score with Air , which is much more entertaining than any movie about a long-ago business deal has any right to be.

Critics Reviews

Audience reviews, cast & crew.

Ben Affleck

Sonny Vaccaro

Phil Knight

Jason Bateman

Rob Strasser

Viola Davis

Deloris Jordan

Chris Messina

Movie Clips

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June 6, 1997 Con Air By JANET MASLIN he thrill ride genre is a study in shorthand. "Con Air": convicts on an airplane. ("Do the math," as one character inevitably says about something nonmathematical, using the season's best-loved cliche.) Cameron Poe: he's our hero. Here's what we know about Cameron (Nicolas Cage, looking fabulous): he loves his family. He protects women. He sounds like Elvis. There are Christ-like overtones to his hair weave. He makes origami birds in his jail cell. He must be a really nice guy. Another kind of movie might fill in a few blanks, but the thrill ride needn't bother. It has too much else to do: staging an air war over Monument Valley, sending Cameron fleeing fireballs in slow motion, breaking lots of breakaway glass, finding interesting new forms of demolition. (Ever see a plane crash into a Las Vegas casino? Now you can.) The thrill ride also has its own brand of sight gag, as when a corpse falls from an airplane and causes a comical traffic accident. And one of the drivers had just washed his car! Thrill rides don't often make more sense than beer commercials, which they stylistically resemble by insisting that every frame look slick and pack a visual wallop. (When Cameron kills a man on a rainy night while defending his wife, there's an oil rig pumping in the background: nice kinetic touch.) But some are better than others. The colorfully written "Con Air" is a solid chip off "The Rock," pumped up and very well cast, with the prettiness and polish of advertising art. (Once again the director made his mark in television commercials before moving on to feature filmmaking with this big bang.) Jerry Bruckheimer, producing solo after the death of his partner, Don Simpson, long ago melded the action movie with rock videos and comic strips, and he still knows how to make this formula fly. Beyond the distinction of being the only summer blockbuster with a quotation from Dostoyevsky in its trailer, "Con Air" has an important secret weapon: an indie cast. All of the principals normally work in films more interesting and human than this one, which gives "Con Air" a touch of the subversive and turns it into a big-budget lark. Imaginative actors like John Cusack ("Grosse Pointe Blank"), Steve Buscemi ("Trees Lounge"), Ving Rhames ("Pulp Fiction"), Colm Meaney ("The Van") and John Malkovich (anything with a hissing, unctuous villain) show off entertaining quirks even when playing characters who aren't much more than tattoos and nicknames. As for Cage, he neatly embodies the noble hero while winking literally and figuratively through this role, and his charismatic performance gives the film the center it urgently needs. He also moves athletically through the story's increasingly far-fetched turns. Production notes mention that he reduced his body fat to 3 percent during filming, and the camera often finds ways to admire his muscle tone. As directed by Simon West and written wryly by Scott Rosenberg ("Beautiful Girls"), "Con Air" is a simple setup followed by endless stunts. Having killed a man, served his time and corresponded busily with his daughter before the end of the opening credits (a speedy montage in virtual sign language), Cameron is ready to go home. Unfortunately, he is shipped off with a planeload of evil miscreants who have hijacking in mind. The baddies are led by Cyrus the Virus ( Malkovich), whose sense of irony is shared by Garland Greene ( Buscemi), a serial killer in the Hannibal Lecter mode. "Love your work," Cyrus whispers when these two first meet. Conveniently on board the plane are a diabetic who needs his insulin (Mykelti Williamson of "Forrest Gump"), a female guard (Rachel Ticotin), a leering rapist (Danny Trejo), a stereotypically swishy transvestite (Renoly), a onetime black militant ( Rhames) and enough others to round out a dirty dozen and keep crises on tap. On the ground, worriedly tracking the criminals and cracking their mysterious jail house code in about three seconds, are the straight-arrow Cusack and Meaney. And in secret, revealed only to the scores of millions of people who will see "Con Air" all over the globe, is Cameron Poe's better nature. Fooling the tough cons into thinking he's as evil as they are, Cameron is actually a white knight determined to bring his daughter a stuffed bunny. The film is sly enough to turn the bunny into a totem and to make Buscemi's serial killer susceptible to a pigtailed, hymn-singing schoolgirl. It wants to justify the empty excitement of a thrill-ride scenario by treating it with a touch of sardonic detachment. Maybe we do, too. CON AIR WITH: Nicolas Cage (Cameron Poe), John Cusack (Larkin), John Malkovich (Cyrus the Virus), Steve Buscemi (Garland Greene), Rachel Ticotin (Bishop), Colm Meaney (Malloy), Ving Rhames (Diamond Dog), Mykelti Williamson (Baby-O), Renoly (Sally Can't Dance) and Danny Trejo (Johnny 23). Directed by Simon West; written by Scott Rosenberg; director of photography, David Tattersall; edited by Chris Lebenzon, Steve Mirkovich and Glen Scantlebury; music by Mark Mancina and Trevor Rabin; produced by Jerry Bruckheimer; released by Touchstone Pictures. Running time: 115 minutes. Rating: "Con Air" is rated R (Under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian). It includes profanity, much mayhem and a few predictably brutal touches. There isn't much on-screen gore.

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‘Air’ Review: Ben Affleck Turns Nike’s Quest to Sign Michael Jordan Into This Generation’s ‘Jerry Maguire’

Reteaming with longtime friend Matt Damon, Affleck never shows the NBA star's face, focusing instead on how Jordan’s mom (Viola Davis) negotiated his game-changing endorsement deal.

By Peter Debruge

Peter Debruge

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Americans spend tens of billions of dollars on basketball sneakers every year. Sure, everybody needs shoes, but it shouldn’t matter if your choice bears the Nike swoosh, Adidas’ three stripes or the Converse star. So why does it? In most cases, consumers aren’t simply buying footwear; they’re investing in the fantasy of walking in someone else’s shoes, be it a sports star or a personal idol, and the promise that switching one’s kicks has a direct impact on your potential for greatness.

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In a sly move, Affleck casts himself as Knight, playing the OG “shoe dog” as a comic figure with an ill-fitting wig and an aloof sense of timing. Most corporate CEOs step on other people’s sentences, butting in before their underlings have finished speaking, but not this guy. He waits a beat before responding, as if his attention might be divided between the conversation at hand and a dozen other thoughts. On the wall of Phil’s office hangs a giant sign listing the 10 rules by which Nike operates. Rule No. 2 reads, “Break the rules.” But in 1984, Nike was a publicly traded company, and boards expect rules to be observed.

Enter Sonny, Nike’s in-house basketball guru, whom “Air” introduces as a betting man: He stops by Vegas after a scouting trip, and loses it all on craps. But it’s more than a hunch that tells him Nike should invest its entire quarter-million-dollar basketball marketing budget on one player, as opposed to spreading it among several lower-ranked draft picks. Never mind that Jordan is an Adidas guy; forget that the German company (at which “Air” takes a few sharp digs) can outspend anything Nike offers.

Jordan’s genius on the court practically goes without saying, and yet screenwriter Alex Convery shrewdly decodes the 21-year-old’s potential, spelled out after Sonny studies tape of Jordan’s first year on the University of North Carolina’s team. This and other key moments play like classic Aaron Sorkin scenes, blending the inside-baseball insights of “Moneyball” with “The Social Network”-style power games. His characters aren’t quite as compelling as Sorkin’s, but they express themselves beautifully. Between nostalgia-baiting ’80s radio hits, they walk and talk strategy (around production designer François Audouy’s great sets) or else cut one another down in private (as old friends Damon and Affleck do at several points).

In the film’s most galvanizing monologue, Sonny finally gives Jordan (whose face appears only in archival footage) and his parents (Davis and Julius Tennon) the pitch. Who knows what Sonny really said in that room, but this speech — intercut with the triumphs and pitfalls of Jordan’s career — summarizes everything Michael Jordan means to us, his fans and the legions of Americans he inspired. To get to this moment, Sonny must first convince Phil to endorse his plan; he has to deal with Jordan’s agent, David Falk (Chris Messina, hilariously hostile); and he has to drive out and face Deloris in person.

Casting Davis was the smartest thing Affleck could have done, as the EGOT winner is to acting what Jordan is to sports: Her strength inspires, and she can move us to tears while making it look easy. We all know what happened with the Air Jordan deal — more than Adidas’ early-’70s Stan Smith alliance, the shoe launched our now-ubiquitous sneaker culture — and yet, Deloris forces Sonny to work for the family’s approval.

Memorable parts by Chris Tucker as Howard White, who traded his basketball uniform for a corporate suit, and Marlon Wayans as 1984 Olympics coach George Raveling notwithstanding, “Air” often seems to be focused on the whitest guys in the room. But Affleck is hardly blind to the racial dynamics underlying the whole saga, revealing how Deloris ensured that corporate America couldn’t exploit her son.

Then as now, Nike’s shoes weren’t necessarily any more stylish or advanced than its competitors’ — although the original Air Jordans are a thing of beauty. The company’s sneakers owed nearly all of their mystique to the athletes who wore them. In 1984, Michael Jordan was still a rookie, destined to become a legend. The novelty of “Air” comes in trying to imagine Nike as the underdog, given what the brand has become, but that’s as fine a place as any for a sports movie to begin.

Reviewed at SXSW (Closing Night), March 18, 2023. MPA Rating: R. Running time: 112 MIN.

Production: An Amazon Studios release of an Amazon Studios, Skydance Sports presentation of an Artists Equity, Mandalay Pictures production. Producers: Ben Affleck, Matt Damon, David Ellison, Jesse Sisgold, Jon Weinbach, Madison Ainley, Jeff Robinov, Peter Guber, Jason Michael Berman. Executive producers: Dana Goldberg, Don Granger, Kevin Halloran, Michael Joe, Drew Vinton, John Graham, Peter E. Strauss, Jordan Moldo.
Crew: Director: Ben Affleck. Screenplay: Alex Convery. Camera: Robert Richardson. Editor: William Goldenberg. Music supervisor: Andrea von Foerster.
With: Matt Damon, Ben Affleck, Jason Bateman, Chris Tucker, Chris Messina, Marlon Wayans, Viola Davis, Matthew Maher, Julius Tennon.

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‘Air’ Review: Director Ben Affleck Shoots and Scores with His Biographical Sports Drama

Marisa mirabal.

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Editor’s note: This review was originally published at the 2023 SXSW Film Festival. Amazon Studios releases the film in theaters on Wednesday, April 5.

Today, there are 37 different variations of Air Jordan models available. From the basketball court to the streets and even the catwalk, the Nike sneakers have become a staple of American culture. Director Ben Affleck ’s “Air” invites audiences into Nike headquarters to experience the story behind the popular shoe that was built solely for the legendary athlete for which it is named: Michael Jordan.

Set in 1984, Affleck stars as Nike founder Phil Knight. An ambitious, rebellious, and passionate leader who likes to live by — and reiterate — Douglas McArthur’s famous quote “you are remembered for the rules you break,” Knight thrived on taking risks. During this time, Nike was not as successful as its competitors Adidas and Converse, and their NBA division was struggling to sign an athlete to sponsor their gear. Nike’s basketball guru in charge of changing that slump was Sonny Vaccaro (played in the film by Matt Damon ). As the Nike board began questioning the relevance of his position at Nike, Vaccaro sought to do something wild: sign Chicago Bulls’ rookie Michael Jordan to literally change the game for Nike and marketing a brand at large.

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Affleck’s directing style is on point, with several aerial and close-up shots that allow the actors to really shine. He also includes old footage from famous commercials, music videos, and sports games to set the stage for the era audiences are about to revisit or enter for the first time. Interludes of quotes from Nike’s 10 principles also help viewers to understand the ethos of the dedicated company employees, many of which are fans and former athletes or runners themselves. For example, “our business is change,” “we’re on offense, all the time,” and “if we do the right things we’ll make money damn near automatic,” are shown throughout the film. Several references to the company’s history are mentioned throughout the film’s 1 hour and 52 minute running time and potentially could have been pulled from Knight’s inspirational memoir “Shoe Dog.”

In order to sign Jordan, Vaccaro has to go through Michael’s arrogant agent David Falk (hilariously played by Chris Messina). The competitive banter between Vaccaro and Falk comprise some of the best comedic scenes in the film and will have audiences rolling thanks to writer Alex Convery’s smart script. While Falk is primarily concerned with financial gain, Vaccaro’s approach to their corporate competition is to go around Jordan’s agent and approach his parents face-to-face, a bold approach viewed as unprofessional by his colleagues. Driving to North Carolina, Vaccaro meets James R. Jordan Sr. (Julius Tennon) and Deloris Jordan (Viola Davis) in an attempt to win them over.

As the Nike crew prepares for the big pitch to the Jordan family, audiences are introduced to the other key players. Jason Bateman stars as Rob Strasser, VP of Marketing, and Chris Tucker as Howard White, the man who eventually became VP of the Jordan Brand for Nike. Bateman brings a cautionary yet supportive approach to Strasser, while Tucker’s vibrant and electric energy breaks through and captivates the Jordans as White. Each actor’s performance in “Air” is a phenomenal in their own right and they work like a team to create one of the most engaging buisness success stories in history on screen.

Cinematographer Robert Richardson captures initial scenes with a grainy haze synonymous with old school VHS tapes one would use to record games back in the ‘80s. As the image clears throughout the film, Richardson is able to counterbalance the vintage set design courtesy of production designer François Audouy extremely well. Shoe dogs and sneaker heads will enjoy several Easter eggs in the Nike office including newspaper clippings from Nike’s original Blue Ribbon days and several artifacts from Knight’s international travels.

Costume designer Charlese Antoinette Jones does an amazing job conveying the times and showcasing all of the vintage Nike clothing worn by the staff. This creative team behind the camera excels at immersing audiences into the business world of the ‘80s while also playing on the modern day love of nostalgia.

The decision to not have an actor play Michael Jordan was wise. Affleck clearly took a great amount of care with this project by respecting the legend and his loving family. He consulted with Jordan to get his blessing on the film, receive any input, and honor Jordan’s condition to have the supreme Viola Davis play his mother. While many may assume “Air” is about the game or MJ himself, it is actually about the underdogs of Nike creating a brand that was revolutionary for the times. Before Air Jordans, there had not been a marketing strategy to this degree. As Strasser says, “a shoe is just a shoe until someone steps into it.”

Another impactful aspect of the film is how the story becomes about family. Davis brings such a large amount of warmth and strength to playing Deloris Jordan, a woman who knew her son’s worth and fought for him to get his share of the pie. Subtle yet stern, her performance evokes such empathy and class as Deloris navigates the business deals proposed to her and her adoring husband. On several occasions, her presence on screen has the tendency to give audiences goosebumps because of just how perfectly she honors Mrs. Jordan and how she carries herself knowing that her son is a legend whose impact to the game will be forever lifechanging. It’s all quite beautiful.

Each actor in Affleck’s latest film gives a powerful and awards-worthy performance. “Air” is a slam dunk and ultimately one of the best sports movies ever made. Affleck successfully captures Nike’s heartwarming and hilarious marketing journey while paying respectful homage to all involved. “Air” is a tremendous underdog story filled with lovable characters. It’s truly a film about legends made by legends.

“Air” premiered at the 2023 SXSW Film Festival. Amazon Studios will release it in theaters on Wednesday, April 5.

Pop Culture Happy Hour

Performing Arts
Pop Culture

No substance, just 'Air'

Aisha Harris

Matt Damon as Sonny Vaccaro in Air. Ana Carballosa/Amazon Studios hide caption

Matt Damon as Sonny Vaccaro in Air.

In 1984, a young Michael Jordan signed what was then the NBA's most lucrative sneaker deal with Nike. The Air Jordan line was a culture-shifting juggernaut, impacting not just the business of sports but fashion, celebrity, hip-hop, and street culture for decades to come. It inspired an encyclopedia. It became a status symbol. It renewed hand-wringing over American consumerism and " Black-on-Black " crime.

Over the years, there have been plenty of examinations of the Air Jordan brand's fraught success and influence, including a 2018 documentary, Unbanned: The Legend of AJ1. But we're living in the era of the nostalgic headline-to-Hollywood pipeline and in an age where entrepreneurs are obsessed with being credited as artistic visionaries, so perhaps it was inevitable something like the movie Air would come to exist. Directed by Ben Affleck with a screenplay by Alex Convery, Air is a soulless dramatization of how a giant corporation convinced a promising NBA rookie to make its already wealthy and well-off board members, CEOs, and salespeople even wealthier and set for life.

OK, that's the crass way of describing it; the film's creators would undoubtedly characterize their aims as being more "inspiring" than that. It's presented as a classic sports movie about an underdog team (in this case, Nike) achieving greatness with a game-winning score (a rousing boardroom sales pitch). It's imagined as a classic American tale of ambition and a singular vision, in the form of the underestimated salesman Sonny Vaccaro (Matt Damon). It's set up as an affirmation of Black Excellence writ large, of a budding superstar demanding, via his sharp-witted mother Deloris (Viola Davis), he is paid his worth in a business known for exploiting its athletes, especially its Black ones. (Interestingly, the faceless actor playing Jordan is only seen from behind and mutters just a handful of words throughout the entire film.)

But for all that Don Draperesque spin, Air really is crass. It's nothing more than a craven exercise in capitalist exaltation. The dramatic "stakes," if one wants to call them that – and if one does, they're being overly generous – are as follows: It's 1984, and Nike trails behind Adidas and Converse in sales. If you work at the giant corporation that is Nike at that time, that's a problem. This is especially true for Sonny, the longtime Nike salesman who's decided to bet his career on trying to secure the Chicago Bulls' NBA draft pick Michael Jordan for an unprecedented sneaker deal. (We know this because he says, "I'm willing to bet my career on Michael Jordan.")

The 'Disrupter'

Julius Tennon as James Jordan Sr. in Air . Ana Carballosa/Amazon Studios hide caption

Julius Tennon as James Jordan Sr. in Air .

Sonny is positioned as a "disrupter" who sees "greatness" in Jordan at a time when few others do. After replaying a VHS tape of the athlete's game-winning shot at the 1982 NCAA Championships, he decides the company has to break traditions and make an offer the other brands won't. Instead of spending its budget on signing multiple new basketball stars, Sonny wants Nike to go all-in on Jordan.

Unfortunately for Sonny, being a disrupter means facing opposition from those content with the status quo – including his boss, the cantankerous CEO Phil Knight (a red-haired Affleck); the by-the-books VP of marketing Rob Strasser (Jason Bateman); and Jordan's misanthropic, hard-bargaining agent David Falk (Chris Messina), who doesn't even want his client to take a meeting with Nike. And so Sonny does what all "great" men in Movies About Great Men do – he goes rogue, secretly driving from Oregon to the Jordan family's home in North Carolina to pitch himself directly to Deloris. Exactly how will Sonny finally break through all that defense and drive this deal to the net, huh???

Air is convinced there's enough nail-biting tension to be gleaned from this conundrum and enough audience buy-in of the Jordan mythos and brand to overcome such a flimsy premise. And to be fair, the performers are fully committed to what little character development they're given – Davis is, per usual, giving off convincing gravitas; Messina's prickly and lends some levity to the proceedings.

But just as there are many meetings that could've been an email, this is one movie that could've been a narrative podcast. (Many of the major figures involved, including Vaccaro and Knight, are still with us.) Sonny, our erstwhile hero, is by far the least interesting character; a bland descendant of countless white guy protagonists who have nothing left to lose, including Tom Cruise's Jerry Maguire. This becomes painfully clear somewhere around the midway point of Air when Rob delivers a monologue about how he's wary of Sonny's wild plans and that he really, really needs to keep his job, not just for a paycheck, but because working at Nike has allowed him to connect with his young daughter. (He only gets to see her once a week following his divorce and always brings her a new pair of complimentary Nikes. Her love, it seems, is conditional upon being able to sport the latest kicks.) In those few minutes, we learn more about this secondary character than our disrupter, whose only defining characteristics are that he likes to gamble and that he's out of shape (several characters comment upon his weight). Rob's monologue is obviously thrown in to lend some weight to the Jordan recruitment that doesn't exist within the depiction of Sonny himself.

Show him the money

Sonny Vaccaro (Damon) and Deloris Jordan (Viola Davis). Amazon Studios hide caption

Sonny Vaccaro (Damon) and Deloris Jordan (Viola Davis).

And on the subject of Jerry Maguire : Like Cuba Gooding Jr.'s Rod Tidwell, Michael Jordan's strategic aims to secure the best deal possible are steered by the most important Black woman in his life – in both cases, there's a nod to subversiveness that doesn't quite hold water if you think about it too hard. (" We determine our worth," Rod's wife Marcee, played by Regina King, says while persuading him not to take an underwhelming offer. "You are a strong, proud, surviving, splendid Black man.")

Likewise, Jordan's mom Deloris is the one who holds the key to Sonny's future at Nike, and when she shrewdly negotiates with him over the phone – she insists her son get a cut of the revenue, unheard of at that time – Air wants the audience to believe there's a deeper purpose here beyond an exercise in championing capitalism. A Black man disrupting the historically racist system that undervalues Black talent by forcing that same system to run him his bag, and then some – this will undoubtedly appeal to a certain demographic that still reveres the old-school definition of the American Dream and celebrates Black billionaires as meaningful "progress." In my screening of Air , there were whoops and cheers when Nike finally accepted the terms of Deloris' negotiations.

Yet there's something ultimately hollow about trying to extract FUBU mentality from what amounts to a two-hour ad for Nike and the uber-rich, especially in this economy. It's marked by the same odd dichotomy that comes with hearing one of our beloved musicians, herself a billionaire, sing about being "paid ... in equity" and buying her husband a jet. Do they deserve to be compensated for their worth? Of course. But let's not pretend as if more insanely wealthy Black people are some sort of "win" for all of us.

Though at least when said pop star boasts about her riches, there's an engaging tension between her sheer artistry and the awareness of inequalities that exist in this country and everywhere else. With Air – which concludes with subtitles pointing out how the lush benefactors of this sweet, sweet deal have donated money to good causes in the years since – there's no there there, no feeling to latch onto besides, "Why was this made?" It's nothing but air.

Air is now playing in theaters.

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Viola Davis

Ben Affleck Gambles With An Air Jordan Movie That's Not About The Basketball Star

Senior Culture Reporter

Ben Affleck's films seldom include Black characters. "Air" relies on the adoration of one of the most revered Black figures in history.

It took all of a few minutes after the “Air” trailer dropped for folks to begin casting doubt on the entire idea of it — with good reason. The movie revolves around Nike’s monumental 1984 signing of then-rookie Michael Jordan for the now-immortal Air Jordan sneakers.

And it’s told through the perspectives of the white guys behind the deal, directed by and starring Ben Affleck — a driving force behind modern cinema’s obsession with white, Boston-set narratives like “The Town,” “Good Will Hunting” and “Gone Baby Gone.”

The actor-filmmaker seldomly center characters of color in his movies. Yet he has chosen, by his own admission , to rest his and debut screenwriter Alex Convery’s latest work on fans’ adoration for Jordan, widely regarded as basketball’s G.O.A.T., who is Black.

Oh, and the actor who plays Jordan in “Air” is never actually seen in the film. Stay with me.

It’s a gamble. Not because Affleck isn’t a great director. In addition to the aforementioned acclaimed films, he also helmed 2012’s excellent drama “Argo,” for which he earned the Best Picture Oscar.

Rather, it’s because the legend of Jordan’s deal with Nike is also the legend of Black excellence dominating white American commerce in a way it never had before.

Matthew Maher, Matt Damon and Jason Bateman portray three of the white guys behind Michael Jordan's groundbreaking Nike endorsement deal in "Air."

And that win is specific to Black people — particularly those who grew up with lesser means amid the rising crack epidemic in the ’80s who could only dream of brushing shoulders with the idols mentioned in Kurtis Blow’s song “Basketball,” much less of wearing their sneakers.

In “Air,” though, it’s a major victory for the marketing execs of the then-dwindling Nike brand, whose accomplishments and spitfire banter are thrillingly portrayed by Matt Damon and Jason Bateman, plus Affleck as Nike owner Phil Knight and Chris Messina as Jordan’s agent David Falk.

And those achievements are powered by the film’s ’80s rock and otherwise white-band-heavy soundtrack.

It’s, as they say, a choice. Centering white people in this kind of story while showing its Black emblem of success only from the shoulders down or from the back immediately begs the question of whose story this is to tell.

The short answer is: It’s complicated. If you think of “Air” as a movie about the first Black athlete — or athlete in general — to earn a share of the profit in an endorsement deal, then it deserves a storyteller who can compellingly explore both sports and racial context.

But if you think about “Air” as the film it actually is, then you might be able to appreciate it as the engaging pop culture retelling that it is (with some noteworthy revisions and omissions to be discussed in a bit).

Yes, it’s about white guys looking for a huge win through an industry dominated by incredibly talented Black players.

It’s also about that same white male-owned brand realizing — through the character of Jordan’s mother, who negotiated the contract (superbly played by Viola Davis) — that this win is not Nike’s alone. The brand can’t win without Jordan also winning. In other words, this will not be yet another example from that time (and still today) of a white organization exploiting Black talent.

Viola Davis' portrayal of Michael Jordan's mother, Deloris, helps give "Air" a much-needed reality check.

“Air,” though, doesn’t really have the range to delve into that last point as directly as it should. Instead, it shows and implies, without actually saying it. That makes it a weaker film. But, as Affleck admits, he’s not the filmmaker to tell a more pointed story around the appropriation of Black culture by white people.

“That’s not my film to make,” the director told The Hollywood Reporter in a recent interview. “I’m telling a story that’s about a combination of things, and this is one aspect of it. I’m not going to omit it because to omit it would further compound the disrespect.”

Affleck seems to at least be cognizant of the issue of cultural appropriation in fashion and what Black talent has given to white America — and, more specifically, what Jordan means to Black America. The director even says at another point in his THR interview that he’s come to understand that “culture and style in America is 90 percent driven by Black culture.”

Thoughts like that make Affleck seem like he could, in fact, be a good director to helm a more robust story about this. It’s not just that he appears to have curiosity about and understanding of the issue. He’s also interested enough to align himself with Black talent like Davis, who can help inform the cultural subtext in a way he can’t.

Davis’ portrayal of Deloris Jordan seems designed to be in quiet conversation with Black audiences. As if to say, you don’t hear me saying it in this script, but you know what I’m saying here.

The same is true of Chris Tucker, who plays Nike exec Howard White, the type of fast talker who, in the movie, helps court Jordan’s parents as the only other Black face in the boardroom. This is all to say that there is some intention behind what Affleck and Convery deliver here, even if it falls just a bit short of a more provocative story.

Chris Tucker's Howard White is a necessary inclusion in the story of "Air."

There is also some purpose behind whose voices are included in this story and why — and whose are centered versus whose, in Jordan’s case, are entirely muted — to further drive home the point that this movie is about the people who made Jordan and not Jordan himself.

Damon’s Sonny Vaccaro is the main hero in the film, as evidenced by the many extreme close-ups of him and his inspirational speeches that are mostly about Jordan’s future legend status.

The echoes of fearlessness throughout “Air” also extend to Deloris and, as fondly detailed in the movie’s postscript, Marlon Wayans’ George Raveling, a former basketball star who helped inspire what would soon become Nike’s groundbreaking offer to Jordan.

A cover story about Michael Jordan from Oct. 29, 1984.

There also seems to be some agenda in terms of what’s not in the movie, which also comes to mind when we talk about the potential story of “Air” as opposed to the actual story.

For instance, this 1986 New York Times article explores Jordan as a marketing juggernaut for both the NBA and Nike — and how that became a symbiotic relationship. As meaningful as Jordan’s success was to the Black community, the Times quotes him saying that he aspires to be seen as “neither black nor white.”

Maybe that’s indicative of Black stars in the ’80s, and still today , not wanting to feel limited on account of their race. Or maybe this has some other interpretation.

But it makes you wonder how “Air” could have explored that pricklier truth (perhaps through Deloris, to not disturb Jordan’s myth-like form here) as it makes sure to mention that part of Jordan’s Nike profits go to Black community organizations in his name.

That same Times article also makes a point of noting that the song playing in the Jordan video reel that Nike ultimately woos the star with is The Pointer Sisters’ “Jump.” It’s not the song we hear in “Air.”

Again, this goes back to what we talk about when we discuss cinematic agenda.

Matt Damon plays a hero among many in "Air."

While “Air” isn’t necessarily hagiographical, every character in it comes out virtually unscathed. Perhaps because the film is not really about any of them, but rather about a feeling of winning, inspiring and giving hope. And you can apply that to any era or career.

Consider this framing all in the name of a thrilling cinematic experience that serves the main objective of every film: to tell a great story. And “Air” is a riotous, worthwhile and surprisingly heartfelt film that does just that.

It also happens to fit squarely inside Affleck’s wheelhouse, where he’s clearly most comfortable. Does that make it a less rewarding film? No, but it does give its audience a lot to chew on when we think about what we want from it and what we’re willing to research about it in our own time — and whether that’s enough for us to enjoy the movie.

What Affleck and Convery understand is that a film doesn’t have to be about the sport or the athlete to be good, or even to be considered a sports movie. The fact that they manage to create a gripping film about a story we already know speaks volumes about what they’ve accomplished.

At its core, “Air” has the same goal as most great sports films — to inspire. And of course, to entertain. This film does both.

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Ben Affleck, Matt Damon, Chris Tucker, Jason Bateman, and Viola Davis in Air (2023)

Follows the history of sports marketing executive Sonny Vaccaro, and how he led Nike in its pursuit of the greatest athlete in the history of basketball, Michael Jordan. Follows the history of sports marketing executive Sonny Vaccaro, and how he led Nike in its pursuit of the greatest athlete in the history of basketball, Michael Jordan. Follows the history of sports marketing executive Sonny Vaccaro, and how he led Nike in its pursuit of the greatest athlete in the history of basketball, Michael Jordan.

Ben Affleck
Alex Convery
Jason Bateman
425 User reviews
271 Critic reviews
73 Metascore
5 wins & 47 nominations

Sonny Vaccaro

Rob Strasser

Phil Knight

Deloris Jordan

James Jordan

Michael Jordan
(as Damian Young)

Howard White

Peter Moore

Horst Dassler

Kathe Dassler

John Fisher

John O'Neill

George Raveling

7-Eleven Clerk

All cast & crew
Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

Big Cars, Big Dreams With the 'Air' Cast

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Trivia Though Michael Jordan was not directly involved in the film, Ben Affleck consulted him numerous times to get details on how to accurately portray the story. According to Affleck, Jordan's only two requests were that Viola Davis play his mother and that his longtime friend Howard White be included in the film. Affleck always wanted to work with Chris Tucker , so he was cast as White. Tucker was also friends with White, and Affleck gave him a lot of flexibility for his performance.
Goofs The "Just Do It" slogan didn't come out until 1987. It was created in 1987 by Wieden + Kennedy to accompany Nike's first major television campaign, which included commercials for running, walking, cross-training, basketball and women's fitness.

Sonny Vaccaro : [to Michael Jordan] Forget about the shoes, forget about the money. You're going to make enough money, it's not going to matter. Money can buy you almost anything, it can't buy you immortality. That, you have to earn. I'm going to look you in the eyes and I'm gonna tell you the future. You were cut from your high school basketball team. You willed your way to the NBA. You're gonna win championships. It's an American story, and that's why Americans are gonna love it. People are going to build you up, and God are they going to, because when you're great and new, we love you. Man, we'll build you up into something that doesn't even exist. You're going to change the fucking world. But you know what? Once they've built you as high as they possibly can, they're gonna tear you back down - it's the most predictable pattern. We build you into something that doesn't exist, and that means you have to try to be that thing all day, every day. That's how it works. And we do it again, and again, and again. And I'm going to tell you the truth. You're going to be attacked, betrayed, exposed and humiliated. And you'd survive that. A lot of people can climb that mountain. It's the way down that breaks them, 'cause that's the moment when you are truly alone. And what would you do then? Can you summon the will to fight on, through all the pain, and rise again? Who are you Michael? That will be the defining question of your life. And I think you already know the answer, and that's why we're all here. A shoe is just a shoe until somebody steps into it. Then it has meaning. The rest of us just want a chance to touch that greatness. We need you in these shoes not so you have meaning in your life, but so that we have meaning in ours. Everyone at this table will be forgotten as soon as our time here is up - except for you. You're gonna be remembered forever, because some things are eternal. You're Michael Jordan, and your story is gonna make us want to fly.

Connections Featured in CBS News Sunday Morning with Jane Pauley: Episode #45.26 (2023)
Soundtracks Money for Nothing Written by Mark Knopfler , Sting (as Gordon Matthew Sumner) Performed by Dire Straits Courtesy of Warner Records By arrangement with Warner Music Group Film & TV Licensing

User reviews 425

Mar 28, 2023
How long is Air? Powered by Alexa
April 5, 2023 (United States)
United States
Los Angeles, California, USA
Amazon Studios
Artists Equity
Mandalay Pictures
See more company credits at IMDbPro
$90,000,000 (estimated)
$52,460,106
$14,456,279
Apr 9, 2023
$90,060,106

Technical specs

Runtime 1 hour 51 minutes
Dolby Digital

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‘Air’ review: Affleck entertains with assists from top-brand talent

Movie review.

At the end of “Air,” director and co-star Ben Affleck, bafflingly bewigged as Nike CEO and co-founder Phil Knight, lies back on his office couch and utters a single word: “equity.” It’s a bit of a cheeky callback to something that happens even before the movie starts: the appearance of the production logo for Affleck’s new company, Artists Equity, which produced “Air,” and which seeks to shake up business as usual in Hollywood, in the same way that Nike and the Jordan family shook up business as usual in the sneaker industry.

Artists Equity is a company designed to share profits with the craftspeople who make the movie, alongside the top-billed stars and producers. This ethos about sharing the wealth among talent also forms the crux of the main argument in “Air,” which is delivered passionately in a climactic speech by Viola Davis, playing Deloris Jordan, Michael Jordan’s mother, who knew — and demanded — her son’s worth.

“Air,” written by Alex Convery, becomes Affleck’s treatise on the film industry and the perils of celebrity, shoehorned into a biopic of a brand: It’s the story of a jogging shoe company courting the greatest player of all time with a signature sneaker, resulting in an unprecedented deal that continues to garner $400 million a year in passive income for Michael Jordan. It’s somewhat of a miracle that “Air,” a film about the iconic Air Jordan sneaker, works as well as it does, considering that most viewers already know the outcome of this movie, which revolves around a single meeting held in Beaverton, Ore., in 1984. This is a story that on paper doesn’t have a shred of suspense, but Affleck applies just the right elements to make it sing.

The first crucial component is Davis as the steely Deloris, delivering the aforementioned three-pointer of a speech, and the second is Affleck’s best friend and business partner, Matt Damon, playing Nike basketball guru Sonny Vaccaro with the kind of sincerity and determination that Damon makes look easy. As Knight, Affleck takes on the erudite weirdo role opposite Damon’s earnest schlub, much like in the last movie they made together, the underrated medieval epic “The Last Duel,” another meta text that used a period setting to comment on contemporary issues.

Affleck surrounds himself, Damon and Davis with a quartet of actors doing absolutely riotous character work and hitting every wild shot. Jason Bateman plays Nike marketing exec Rob Strasser as perpetually bothered and snarky, making a full-course meal out of every tiny reaction; Chris Messina is at full froth as Jordan’s agent David Falk, spewing soliloquies of florid filth on the phone while ensconced in a black and chrome office, sometimes casually twiddling a large knife. Chris Tucker plays affable Nike talent relations exec Howard White, who builds a cultural bridge between a Black family from North Carolina and a crew of Oregonian sneaker heads. Matthew Maher rounds out the team as designer Peter Moore, an oddball philosopher of footwear who turns the Air Jordan into an objet d’art, a reflection of the individual player designed for mass market consumption.

The style is busy, Affleck laying a heavy hand on the ’80s references and music cues, Robert Richardson’s cinematography mimicking the amateurish style of someone with a brand-new camcorder. But the pace flies, and the actors make the film wildly engaging. With Davis as the quietly powerful Deloris jockeying for her son’s best interest, and Damon’s Sonny offering inspirational speeches about immortality and the rise and fall of celebrity, it almost feels like buying Jordans is a virtuous act. But remember, that’s just the genius of marketing, and movie magic. “Air” might not be the movie that makes Ben Affleck immortal the way the Air Jordan did for Michael, but it’s an entertaining representation of his new, industry-disrupting company, an enterprise that hopefully has a lasting impact.

With Matt Damon, Viola Davis, Ben Affleck, Jason Bateman, Chris Messina, Chris Tucker, Matthew Maher. Directed by Affleck, from a screenplay by Alex Convery. 112 minutes. Rated R for language throughout. Opens April 5 at multiple theaters.

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Common sense media reviewers.

Fun "underdogs save Nike" story has strong language.

Air Movie Poster: Various sections show Chris Tucker, Ben Affleck, Matt Damon, and Viola Davis, with the taglines "some icons are meant to fly" and "courting a legend"

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

The movie is a "triumph of the underdog" story in

Even though Sonny Vaccaro comes up with the idea t

Focuses largely on White men, with more diversity

Arguing, shouting.

Sex-related dialogue. Playboy and Hustler magazine

Strong, frequent language includes "f--k," "s--t,"

The Nike logo, shoes, slogans, and various product

Social drinking: beers at restaurant.

Positive Messages

The movie is a "triumph of the underdog" story in which people who are lacking money and resources must rely on their ingenuity to succeed. It's pretty simple, but it can still feel inspiring.

Positive Role Models

Even though Sonny Vaccaro comes up with the idea that saves the company, and his unique charm and know-how help him navigate the various pitfalls that occur, he's presented as a fairly flawed person. He gambles, swears a lot, doesn't have healthy habits, and can be fairly abrasive to those around him.

Diverse Representations

Focuses largely on White men, with more diversity in key supporting roles. Chris Tucker plays Howard White, a high-ranking Black executive at Nike, and Marlon Wayans plays George Raveling, a Black athlete-turned-Nike employee. Viola Davis and Julius Tennon play Michael Jordan's parents (Michael himself is mostly kept off-camera); Deloris Jordan is portrayed as a force to be reckoned with. She has agency and is a master negotiator. Actor Matthew Maher, who has a speaking difference as the result of cleft palate surgery, plays Peter Moore, the genius shoemaker who builds the Air Jordan.

Did we miss something on diversity? Suggest an update.

Violence & Scariness

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Violence & Scariness in your kid's entertainment guide.

Sex, Romance & Nudity

Sex-related dialogue. Playboy and Hustler magazines (with brown paper slip cover) seen on shelf at convenience store. Joke about STDs.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Sex, Romance & Nudity in your kid's entertainment guide.

Strong, frequent language includes "f--k," "s--t," "bulls--t," "a--hole," "damn," "badass," "stupid," "nuts," "nutsack," "balls," "dumb." Exclamatory use of "Jesus Christ."

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Language in your kid's entertainment guide.

Products & Purchases

The Nike logo, shoes, slogans, and various products are mentioned or on display throughout. Adidas and Converse brands are also mentioned and shown. Various 1980s products (Kodak, Wendy's, 7-Eleven, Slurpee, Wheaties, Wonder Bread, Trivial Pursuit, etc.) are seen in an opening montage and in the background.

Drinking, Drugs & Smoking

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Drinking, Drugs & Smoking in your kid's entertainment guide.

Parents Need to Know

Parents need to know that Air is based on the true story of how a once sinking Nike corporation rocketed to the top by making a deal with NBA superstar Michael Jordan and creating their bestselling Air Jordan sneakers. The Ben Affleck -directed drama follows a formula but has an undeniable underdog energy. Language is the biggest issue, with frequent use of "f--k," "s--t," "a--hole," and more. There's also sex-related dialogue (including jokes about STDs) and glimpses of adult magazines (protected by brown slipcovers) in a convenience store. Characters drink socially -- i.e., beers in a restaurant -- and the Nike logo, shoes, slogans, and various products are mentioned or on display throughout. Matt Damon , Jason Bateman , Chris Messina , and Viola Davis co-star. To stay in the loop on more movies like this, you can sign up for weekly Family Movie Night emails .

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Community Reviews

Parents say (10)
Kids say (8)

Based on 10 parent reviews

Lots of language but overall a great movie

Lots of language, what's the story.

In AIR, it's the early 1980s, and the Nike Corporation is struggling behind competitors Converse and Adidas. Marketing executive Rob Strasser ( Jason Bateman ) calls a meeting of the basketball division to try to figure out how to spend their meager $250,000 annual budget. He urges them to pick out three lower-tier players to work with, but fellow exec Sonny Vaccaro ( Matt Damon ) insists that this way will lead to failure. He has a more audacious idea: Why not spend all the money trying to get star player Michael Jordan? And, rather than having him wear just any old shoe, why not offer him his own shoe, the Air Jordan? To make this happen, Sonny must get around his boss, company CEO Phil Knight ( Ben Affleck ), and slimy agent David Falk ( Chris Messina ), as well as convince Jordan's mother, Deloris ( Viola Davis ). The plan seems on the verge of success, but the Jordan family makes one more demand -- something that's never been done before.

Is It Any Good?

Directed capably (if not excitingly) by Ben Affleck , this Great American "triumph of the underdog" story isn't exactly a slam dunk, but it's at least a solid layup. Air relies on many "sitting in a room and talking" shots, as well as several phone conversation scenes, and then tries to pump these moments up with a large selection of period songs, one of which seems to pop up about every five minutes. And there's too much dialogue that "predicts" the future, designed so that viewers can nod along in recognition. Air isn't a dynamic movie, but perhaps thanks to the fine performances, the energy is there, and it becomes undeniably exciting. Plus, this isn't a movie about amassing great wealth. It's more about regular folks simply keeping their jobs (and, in some cases, their identities), and about a Black family setting a new precedent so that others may follow. Ultimately, it's the characters who count in Air , and we get to know them well enough that their setbacks and victories actually mean something.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

Families can talk about how Air turns the Nike corporation into an underdog that viewers may find themselves rooting for. What methods does it use to spark this feeling?

What's at stake here? Is money the goal, or is there something more?

Did you notice examples of positive diverse representation in the movie? What about stereotypes ?

Does watching the movie make you want to rush out and buy Nike shoes? Why, or why not? Do you think that was the intent in any way?

How does this story, which is set in the 1980s, resemble today's world of celebrities and influencers ?

Movie Details

In theaters : April 5, 2023
On DVD or streaming : September 12, 2023
Cast : Matt Damon , Viola Davis , Jason Bateman
Director : Ben Affleck
Inclusion Information : Female actors, Black actors
Studio : Amazon Studios
Genre : Drama
Topics : History
Run time : 112 minutes
MPAA rating : R
MPAA explanation : language throughout
Last updated : October 7, 2023

Did we miss something on diversity?

Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by suggesting a diversity update.

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Air review — Matt Damon and Ben Affleck’s reunion is box-fresh

Matthew Maher, Matt Damon and Jason Bateman in Air

Challenge yourself with today’s puzzles.

★★★★☆ During the stirring boardroom climax of this backroom business drama, Matt Damon’s impassioned marketing executive Sonny Vaccaro gestures towards his colleagues at Nike, including the boss, Phil Knight (Ben Affleck), and grandly announces that in the future “everyone around this table will be forgotten”. It’s the cornerstone of Sonny’s pitch to the rising basketball star Michael Jordan (Damian Delano Young), who is sitting, unimpressed, before him. It’s 1984 and Nike’s basketball shoe division is floundering, so Sonny is hoping to land a lucrative endorsement deal with Jordan by contrasting the sporting immortality that awaits the young athlete with the anonymity of the bland corporate drones. These include the director of marketing, Rob Strasser (Jason Bateman), the designer Peter Moore (Matthew Maher) and the sports

How Tetris conquered the world — and subverted the USSR

AIR: streaming date, reviews, trailer, cast and everything we know about the Ben Affleck, Matt Damon Nike movie

Ben Affleck and Matt Damon reunite to tell the story of Nike.

Ben Affleck wearing sunglasses at a desk in AIR

Nike is getting the big screen treatment as the legendary sports apparel company's story is being told with the new 2023 movie AIR , with Ben Affleck and Matt Damon two of the driving forces behind it.

Affleck and Damon have a long history together going all the way back to when they were kids in Boston, but their professional career has been highlighted by their Oscar win for the Good Will Hunting s creenplay and appearing together in movies (in addition to Good Will Hunting ) like Dogma , the Jay and Silent Bob movies, School Ties and, most recently, The Last Duel . However, this is the first time that Affleck is directing Damon in a movie.

Find out everything you need to know about AIR , including when it is coming to streaming, who else is in the movie and more right here.

AIR streaming date

Though the movie was produced by Amazon Studios, AIR released exclusively in movie theaters on April 5 instead of having an immediate release on Prime Video. But we now know when it is going to have its streaming debut, May 12, announced by Prime Video's Twitter account:

From director Ben Affleck comes the story behind the greatest deal of all time. Inspired by true events, #AIRMovie is now playing in theaters and streaming exclusively on Prime Video May 12. pic.twitter.com/8VZm9Lw03N May 2, 2023

AIR will focus on one of the most important events in Nike's history, which would help them become the globally recognized brand they are today: their pursuit of Michael Jordan as a spokesperson and the creation of the Air Jordan sneaker line.

Here is the movie's official synopsis:

"From award-winning director Ben Affleck, AIR reveals the unbelievable game-changing partnership between a then-rookie Michael Jordan and Nike's fledgling basketball division, which revolutionized the world of sports and contemporary culture with the Air Jordan brand. This moving story follows the career-defining gamble of an unconventional team with everything on the line, the uncompromising vision of a mother who knows the worth of her son's immense talent and the basketball phenom who would become the greatest of all time."

Alex Convery wrote the script for AIR .

Damon is going to take the lead role of Vaccaro in AIR , while Affleck's turn as Knight is described to be more of a supporting performance. Damon and Affleck have been two of the biggest stars in Hollywood over the last 25 years or so. Some of Damon's most memorable roles came in The Martian , The Departed and Saving Private Ryan , while Affleck is best known for his turns in The Tender Bar , The Way Back , as Batman in The Justice League and Gone Girl .

Joining Affleck and Damon in AIR are Jason Bateman ( Ozark , Arrested Development ), Chris Messina ( Gaslit , The Mindy Project ), Viola Davis ( The Woman King , Fences ), Matthew Maher ( Outer Range , Our Flag Means Death ), Marlon Wayans ( The Curse of Bridge Hollow , White Chicks ), Chris Tucker ( Rush Hour , Silver Lining's Playbook ), Gustaf Skarsgård ( Vikings , Cursed ) and Julis Tennon ( The Woman King , Get on Up ).

Many of you may notice that there isn't an actor identified as playing Michael Jordan. That is purposeful, as according to Ben Affleck, Michael Jordan is barely in the movie (only shown from behind, where he is portrayed by Damian Young). IndieWire reports that at a special screening in New York, Affleck said that "The only person who could play Michael Jordan, as I’ve said to him, is too old now to play Michael Jordan;" believing that trying to pass someone else off as the basketball legend would immediately be called out as fake.

AIR trailer

Get that '80s vibe with the official AIR trailer right here:

AIR reviews

AIR had its world premiere at the South by Southwest Film Festival, so the first reviews are starting to trickle in, with many critics saying the same thing — the movie is a "slam dunk." Our very own WTW team raved about the film in our Air review , specifically calling attention to the performances of Matt Damon and Viola Davis.

As of May 2, AIR had 92% "Certified Fresh" score on Rotten Tomatoes from critics and a positive audience score of 98%.

Ben Affleck directed movies

While Affleck got his break as an actor, he has also become quite the acclaimed director. Here are the movies that he has directed in addition to AIR :

Gone Baby Gone (2007)
The Town (2010)
Argo (2012)
Live by Night (2016)

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Michael Balderston is a DC-based entertainment and assistant managing editor for What to Watch, who has previously written about the TV and movies with TV Technology, Awards Circuit and regional publications. Spending most of his time watching new movies at the theater or classics on TCM, some of Michael's favorite movies include Casablanca , Moulin Rouge! , Silence of the Lambs , Children of Men , One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest and Star Wars . On the TV side he enjoys Only Murders in the Building, Yellowstone, The Boys, Game of Thrones and is always up for a Seinfeld rerun. Follow on Letterboxd .

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Tv/streaming, collections, great movies, chaz's journal, contributors, masters of the air.

Let’s rip off the band-aid: I’m shocked at how little I cared for “Masters of the Air.” “Band of Brothers” and “The Pacific,” series produced by Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks , weren’t just perfect series that told the true stories of World War II servicemen. They were also incredible epics, taking viewers from big battles filled with unlikely heroes, experiencing instances of heartbreak, mourning, camaraderie, fear, and valor. These were also chances for sincere assessments of the personal culpability and questionable morality that happened on both sides that only made these men more human, and somehow larger-than-life.

When creators John Shiban and John Orloff announced “Masters of the Air” to complete the wartime trilogy, you couldn’t help but expect greatness. Here was another chance to learn about more heroes you never knew, seeing battles you only read in books, and becoming intimately invested in an outcome that was decided long ago. Here was a miniseries that promised an impressive list of directors: Cary Joji Fukunaga , Dee Rees , Tim Van Patten, and Anna Boden & Ryan Fleck . Here was also a different perspective. This time, told from the air.

And yet, unlike its predecessors, “Masters of the Air” doesn’t work to pull you in. We don’t have a preamble that begins in basic training or in someone’s cozy hometown. The opening salvo to the nine hour-long episodes is fairly abrupt, introducing us to two pilots—Major Gale “ Buck ” Cleven ( Austin Butler ) and Major John “Bucky” Egan ( Callum Turner )—as they toast to each other’s good luck. Before long, navigator Major Harry Crosby ( Anthony Boyle ) also arrives. They’re part of the 100th bomber group, a division that became so accustomed to experiencing tragedies and heavy losses, they were known as the “Bloody Hundredth.”

While Donald L. Miller's book Masters of the Air: America's Bomber Boys Who Fought the Air War Against Nazi Germany serves as the series’ primary text, the real-life Crosby’s A Wing and a Prayer is also an inspiration. Hence why the bulk of the show’s voiceover is from Crosby’s perspective, a technique borrowing from the prior Spielberg-Hanks produced war shows that also employed a first-person voice. But when Crosby is elevated away from bomber to HQ, a narrative distancing away from Buck and Bucky, and the squadron’s many other fliers naturally occurs. His cavern transfers over to the audience as well.

The experiential gap between audience and show continues in the VFX, which is only partly understandable. There simply aren’t enough airworthy B-17 bombers and P-51 Mustangs available for these large-scale scenes, nevermind the fact that the antiques still flying certainly can’t endure precision sequences. Those realities forced creators’ hands to reach for the next best option: a mix of digital recreations and physical props. But there isn’t enough movie, or for that matter, television magic to replicate a real plane. The tactileness is missing. The immersiveness is gone. The dog fights and bombing runs are conducted in glossy, shiny skies where planes look like Etch A Sketch plastic. And the intended tension is just as easily shakable.

This is a series short on both realism and grandeur. And it is unable to give life to its primary characters. Buck, for instance, isn’t developed beyond being a stand-up, undaunted guy. Though Butler has found a niche playing archetypes—Elvis as a victim of corrosive capitalism and the rebellious heartthrob in the upcoming “The Bikeriders”—he is reduced to shouldering the patriotism of an era in a collection of longing looks. We know little of his inner-life (wants and desires) and even less about his personal life (we meet his partner at the beginning, but she never shows up again). Turner and Boyle fare no better; no matter how much time we spend with any of these characters, they’re little more than broad biographical re-imaginings rather than real people.

Apart from depicting acts of courage, “Masters of the Air” has very little to say about this era. Though the 100th’s base is nestled in an English country village, their surroundings are reduced to two thinly sketched local children. There are more women here, but none are as fully developed as, say, Renée Lemaire, the Belgian nurse in “Band of Brothers.” It’s a weakness not helped by the show’s rote dialogue, which sounds like a remix of war jargon from other better films like “ Memphis Belle ” and “A Matter of Life and Death.” As such, no one here feels like a real, complex person.

The ability to recall significantly better episodes of “Band of Brothers” and “The Pacific” is another of the show’s glaring issues. “Masters of the Air” mostly follows the same blueprint of those previous Spielberg-Hanks offerings, making its own version of episodes like “Replacements” (where, in this series, a character like Robert Rosenthal played by Nate Mann emerges), “ Why We Fight ,” and “Okinawa.” These attempts to recapture a previously successful formula fall short because this series lacks any psychological dimension. In “Band of Brothers” an episode like “ Crossroads ” witnessed Winters confronting his casualties. The entirety of “The Pacific” concerns Eugene Sledge parsing his borderline war crimes. But no such introspection exists in “Masters of the Air.” It’s just a show concerned with the kind of blind patriotism that only sees war through the lens of American loss.

That kind of human complexity only takes place late, when the Tuskegee Airmen appear in an episode directed by Dee Rees. How can these Black men fight for a country that refuses to grant them rights? It’s a basic question, asked time and again. But in this series, where no white person interrogates themselves, even this kind of low-hanging fruit can offer a hearty meal. There’s one scene, for instance, where they’re talking about their sweethearts. Instead of showing a picture of a woman, one airman has a photo of his home—a nod to the pride he feels being a homeowner. These Black airmen, played by Ncuti Gatwa and Branden Cook, are so charismatic, in fact, you come to wish the entire series was about them.

And yet, it’d be difficult to label “Masters of the Air” as bad. It’s merely an average war drama, with a few sequences that will thrill, offering a little bit more insight than you had before with some sturdy period detail and costuming. It’s just that when sights are set high, a humdrum construction can be a fatal blow.

Whole series screened for review. Premieres on Apple TV+ on January 26th.

Robert Daniels

Robert Daniels is an Associate Editor at RogerEbert.com. Based in Chicago, he is a member of the Chicago Film Critics Association (CFCA) and Critics Choice Association (CCA) and regularly contributes to the New York Times , IndieWire , and Screen Daily . He has covered film festivals ranging from Cannes to Sundance to Toronto. He has also written for the Criterion Collection, the Los Angeles Times , and Rolling Stone about Black American pop culture and issues of representation.

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Film credits.

Masters of the Air (2024)

Austin Butler as Gale Cleven

Callum Turner as John Egan

Anthony Boyle as Harry Crosby

Barry Keoghan as Curtis Biddick

Rafferty Law as Ken Lemmons

Elliot Warren as James Douglass

David Shields as Everett Blakely

Cary Joji Fukunaga
Timothy Van Patten
John Orloff

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Apple 13-inch iPad Air 2024 review: Pro enough

A new larger size, faster m2 chip and support for the apple pencil pro make the 13-inch ipad air a good value.

Apple 13-inch iPad Air 2024 shown with Magic Keyboard

Tom's Guide Verdict

The iPad Air 2024 delivers a larger 13-inch display, impressive M2 performance and long battery life for considerably less money than an iPad Pro. You also get Apple Pencil Pro and Magic Keyboard support and strong audio. But I wouldn’t replace my laptop with this tablet.

Strong M2 performance

Long battery life

Supports Apple Pencil Pro and Magic Keyboard

Robust audio quality

No Thunderbolt support

iPadOS still not good enough to replace laptop

Why you can trust Tom's Guide Our writers and editors spend hours analyzing and reviewing products, services, and apps to help find what's best for you. Find out more about how we test, analyze, and rate.

Cheat Sheet
What I Like
What I Don’t Like

The iPad Air now has a bigger brother — good timing, as Apple has decided to go even more premium on the iPad Pro 2024 . The new 13-inch iPad Air has everything the 11-inch Air has, including a more powerful M2 chip, support for the new Apple Pencil Pro and a repositioned front camera for video calls. But you get much more display real estate for apps, games and more.

Starting at $799, the 13-inch iPad Air is $500 less than the 13-inch iPad Pro, but it doesn’t feel like an also-ran based on my testing. Yes, you miss out on the glorious OLED display on the Pro, the thinner design and even more powerful M4 chip. But the new Air delivers strong performance and battery life, and it works with the previous Magic Keyboard for the 12.9-inch iPad Pro, so this tablet can double as a laptop.

I personally would not replace my MacBook with this computer for reasons I’ll explain in my iPad Air 2024 review, but for those looking for a supersized slate without the Pro sticker shock, it’s one of the best tablets around and well worth the money.

iPad Air M2: Cheat Sheet

What is it? An iPad with Apple’s M2 chip and a larger 13-inch display

Who is it for? People looking for iPad Pro-like performance and features for less money

What does it cost? $799 for just the tablet, $349 for the Magic Keyboard and $129 for Apple Pencil Pro. $1,277 total.

What do I like? The snappy M2 performance for machine learning tasks and gaming, over 11 hours of battery life, the landscape front camera for video calls and booming speakers .

What do I not like? iPadOS + Magic Keyboard is not quite good enough to replace my laptop, no Thunderbolt support and no Face ID

iPad Air M2: Specs

Ipad air m2: what i like, a bigger canvas.

The iPad Air 13-inch is a first for Apple — bringing a large-screen option with 30% more room to the mid-range, and not limiting it just to the iPad Pro. This is the model to get if you want to run two apps side by side or a more immersive video or gaming experience, and it’s certainly the choice if you want your iPad to double as a laptop.

So how is that canvas exactly? The new iPad Air’s display is a LED IPS panel, which means it’s not as bright or colorful as the OLED screen on the Galaxy Tab S9 or new iPad Pro 2024, and it’s also not as vivid as the miniLED equipped iPad Pro 2022 . You also get only a 90Hz refresh rate. Nevertheless, this is a pretty solid display for the price.

Apple 13-inch iPad Air 2024 shown in hand

When watching the trailer for Deadpool and Wolverine, the yellow in Hugh Jackman’s suit popped, and I could easily make out the veins in his biceps. I could also make out nearly every crevice in Deadpool’s face without the mask. I also appreciated have the extra room on the 13-inch screen when surfing the web and checking emails; I just wish the screen got a bit brighter outdoors, as it can look a bit dim in direct sunlight.

Based on our lab testing, the iPad Air 2024’s screen is brighter than the previous model but it has the same color performance and accuracy. The OLED-equipped Galaxy Tab S9 gets considerably brighter and can deliver much punchier hues. The Tab S9 also benefits from a smoother 120Hz refresh rate while the iPad Air is stuck at 60Hz.

Serious M2 performance

The iPad Air’s M2 chip promises a sizable speed boost with a 15% faster CPU, 25% faster graphics performance and 40% faster Neural Engine. I felt this power while playing Diablo Immortal — even with several evil spiders on screen, the action felt smooth on the iPad Air 2024 as I launched Lightning Nova and Scorch attacks. The graphics looked somewhat blurry at first but turning on image sharpening helped.

Apple 13-inch iPad Air 2024 shown playing games

I was also impressed with how well the Air made quick work of enhancing images in Photomator. The machine learning–powered Super Resolution option sharpened a zoomed-in photo of a building in less than 10 seconds, as well as a close-up of a peony flower. It’s especially cool that you can see the difference before and after using a slider on screen.

In our lab testing, the iPad Air 2024 blew away the Galaxy Tab S9 on various benchmarks, though to be fair the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chip is now a generation behind the new Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 found in the latest flagship phones. Still, the iPad Air was nearly twice as fast in the dual-core portion of the Geekbench test, and twice as fast when transcoding 4K video to 1080p in Adobe Premiere rush.

To test the AI performance of the M2 chip we used Geekbench ML, which measures the power of NPUs. The iPad Air 2024 is in its own league, though the performance gap could be artificially higher as we ran a newer version of the test on the new iPad Air.

Apple 13-inch iPad Air 2024 shown with Apple Pencil

Apple Pencil Pro 2 is a winner

The iPad Air 2024 supports the new Apple Pencil Pro ($129), which offers a couple of key advantages for those who like to use a digital pen for sketching, taking notes, making fine edits to photos and more.

My favorite feature is squeeze, which brings up a quick menu whenever you squeeze the Apple Pencil Pro while floating just above the screen. For example, in the Notes app you’ll see a pop-up toolbar that includes the undo button, eraser, marker, pen and color picker. It’s nice to have these options always at the ready.

Another perk is that you’ll feel haptic feedback when you squeeze the Apple Pencil Pro, which is a nice touch, or when a smart shape snaps into place. Apple has already let third-party developers make their own tool palettes for their apps (such as Procreate), and in many cases you can customize the squeeze menu.

Last but not least, barrel roll is a clever new feature that changes the orientation of your pen stroke or brush tool based on how you’re rotating the barrel of the Apple Pencil Pro. I appreciated being able to preview a broader stroke as I angled the device when trying to paint a blue sky.

Longer battery life, stronger speakers

Despite the added oomph the M2 chip provides, the iPad Air 2024 offers excellent battery life. After a busy day of surfing the web, writing this review in Google Docs, playing games and watching Netflix, it was down to 50% after several hours. And our lab test results back up this strong real-world endurance.

Apple 13-inch iPad Air 2024 shown with Safari

On the Tom’s Guide battery test, which involves surfing the web over 5G at 150 nits of screen brightness, the new iPad Air 2024 lasted an excellent 11 hours and 30 minutes. That’s an hour and a half longer than the previous iPad Air, which could be due to the larger battery inside this bigger 13-inch model and the more efficient M2 chip. The iPad Air M2 also outlasted the Galaxy Tab S9 by over 2 hours.

If you’re on the fence between the 11-inch and 13-inch iPad Air, you get more than just a bigger screen. Apple also promises double the bass from the landscape stereo speakers. When playing “Could Have Been Me” from The Struts on Spotify through the new iPad Air, the screeching vocals soared but the snappy percussion still punched through.

I also enjoyed watching and listening to Palm Royale on Apple TV. Kristen Wiig’s southern accent sounded crystal clear over the groovy late ‘60s soundtrack.

Better camera for video calls

Apple did this already with the iPad 10th gen, so it only makes sense to do the same with the new iPad Air. The front 12MP camera is now on the wider edge, which makes this device easier to use for video calls when docked in the Magic Keyboard.

Apple 13-inch iPad Air 2024 on a video call

I did a Google Meet call with my colleague Tony Polanco and he said that I came through clear and the colors were accurate. I also took a selfie with the front camera and I’d say my blue shirt looked vibrant but my face was a bit fuzzy. It’s certainly not one of the best webcams , but it does the job for video calls.

The rear 12MP wide back camera is serviceable. It snapped a fairly crisp photo of my dog indoors, capturing her fur and whiskers well. And it captured a well exposed pic of white, magenta and baby pink peonies in a vase.

iPad Air M2: What I don’t like

Listen — it’s not hard to use the Touch ID button on the iPad Air. It’s on the left side in landscape mode and up top in portrait mode. But it just feels chintzy not to put Face ID on an iPad when the technology has been around since the iPhone X in 2017.

Apple 13-inch iPad Air 2024 shown vertically

The good news is that you can register multiple fingers and when logging in press the power button and keep your hand resting on it to log in.

The rest of the iPad Air’s design is good though. It’s a fairly light aluminum slate at 1.36 pounds and just 0.24 inches thin. Plus it comes in fun colors like blue and purple in addition to the more subdued Starlight (our unit) and Space Gray.

Awkward laptop replacement

This is my biggest problem with the iPad Air. It’s not quite versatile enough to replace my laptop even though it costs as much as one with the accessories. If you spring for the Magic Keyboard with the 13-inch iPad Air you’re looking at a minimum of $1,148. And that’s before you throw in the Apple Pencil Pro, which would bring the price to $1,277.

Apple 13-inch iPad Air 2024 shown in lap

The Magic Keyboard itself offers pretty good tactile feedback, and I like that you can swivel the display away from the base for the optimal viewing angle. But typing with this tablet + keyboard combo on your lap feels unbalanced and shaky compared to a sturdier MacBook Air M3 (from $1,099). You also don’t get a function row on the keyboard, which the new iPad Pro 2024 offers with its Magic Keyboard.

Another issue is iPadOS itself. Apple has tried to make multitasking more intuitive with its Stage Manager feature, which puts your main app front and center and puts other recent apps off to the left side in a peek-a-boo thumbnail view. And you can run two apps side by side in Split View. But frankly, none of this holds a candle to multitasking on macOS.

I found it extremely difficult to get my regular work done on the iPad Air. Selecting from drop-down menus in Google Sheets was a chore, having to jump down to the bottom of the screen instead of within the row itself. And as someone who lives in Chrome I don’t like being forced to use dedicated apps for Gmail , Sheets and Docs instead of jumping from tab to tab in a browser.

Even the cursor in iPadOS is needlessly different. How is a circle better than an arrow? At least the touchpad gestures work well, such as swiping up with two fingers to return to the home screen. But why isn’t iPadOS smart enough to know that when I type something while on the home screen that I’m searching for an app? You need to swipe down first to launch Spotlight.

No Thunderbolt port

I should have looked at the specs first, but I was displeased to see an error message when I tried to plug the iPad Air into my CalDigit docking station at home. I wanted to be able to instantly connect the slate to my 34-inch LG monitor and other peripherals. No dice.

Alas, only the iPad Pro supports Thunderbolt, which seems lame to me. This tablet is certainly powerful enough with its M2 chip to easily connect to Thunderbolt displays and docks, but it’s a Pro-only feature.

Overall, the 13-inch iPad Air is a winner. You get Pro-like M2 performance and long battery life for a reasonable price. The display is roomy enough to get real work done on the go, and I like how smooth and responsive the Apple Pencil Pro feels.

However, I wouldn’t replace my laptop with the iPad Air. macOS is still better than iPadOS for multitasking, and the Magic Keyboard isn’t as sturdy as a MacBook — especially in your lap. I also wish the iPad Air supported Face ID and Thunderbolt.

The bottom line is that the iPad Air 2024 is one of the best tablets around. If it were my money I’d be tempted to spring for the iPad Pro 2024 for its brighter and more colorful OLED display, thinner design and more future-proof M4 chip. But the 13-inch Air is essentially Pro enough.

More from Tom's Guide

Apple unveils M4 chip for iPad Pro — here’s what it can do
iPad Air 2024 vs iPad Air 2022: Here’s everything that’s new
Where to buy the new M2 iPad Air — how to get yours

Mark Spoonauer is the global editor in chief of Tom's Guide and has covered technology for over 20 years. In addition to overseeing the direction of Tom's Guide, Mark specializes in covering all things mobile, having reviewed dozens of smartphones and other gadgets. He has spoken at key industry events and appears regularly on TV to discuss the latest trends, including Cheddar , Fox Business and other outlets. Mark was previously editor in chief of Laptop Mag, and his work has appeared in Wired, Popular Science and Inc. Follow him on Twitter at @mspoonauer.

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iPad Air (2024) review: Of course this is the iPad to get

My heart longs for apple’s ipad pro, but my head (and wallet) know better..

The expensive and gorgeous iPad Pro M4 is a complicated device that’s hard to outright recommend — does it make sense to spend well over $1,000 for a tablet with the inherent limitations of iPadOS compared to a Mac or Windows PC? The iPad Air , however, is much easier to evaluate. Since its 2020 redesign , the Air has had nearly the same form factor as the Pro, with some corners cut to differentiate the two. But the Air is also a clear upgrade over the base iPad, appealing to someone like me who appreciates its excellent screen, superior chip, improved multitasking capabilities and a better accessories experience.

It’s pretty easy to sum up what’s new about the iPad Air this year. It has a faster M2 chip compared to the old M1, it works with a new Apple Pencil Pro, the front camera has moved to the landscape edge and it starts with 128GB of storage (double the prior model) at the same $599 price. These are all expected updates given that it’s been two years since the last iPad Air. But with the 2024 iPad Air, Apple is also offering an intriguing new option : the first 13-inch iPad that doesn’t carry the “pro” designation and associated costs. The 13-inch Air starts at $799, which is $500 less than a comparably-sized iPad Pro. (The model I tested with 512GB of storage and 5G costs $1,249.)

Apple iPad Air (13-inch, 2024)

The first large-screen ipad air is a winner.

The iPad Air remains Apple’s best overall tablet, offering a compelling blend of features while keeping a reasonable price. And the new 13-inch Air is a great option for someone who wants a big display without spending as much money.

Apple’s first affordable large-screen iPad
Powerful M2 chip
More base storage than before
Front camera is finally on the landscape edge
Apple Pencil Pro offers some smart new features
Uses old Magic Keyboard

Photos of Apple’s 13-inch iPad Air, released in 2024

Apple’s iPad Pro in its keyboard case on the left, with the iPad Air and its keyboard on the right.

Apple’s new iPad Pro on the left and iPad Air on the right

Apple iPad Air (2024)

Hardware updates.

I’ve never considered buying a 13-inch iPad Pro. Besides the high price, I also find such a large and heavy iPad difficult to use handheld. It’s great when in a keyboard dock, as the bigger screen is much more suitable for multitasking, but I also want my iPad to be easy to hold for casual tasks, playing games, watching movies and all the other basic stuff tablets are good for.

My current personal iPad is an 11-inch Pro from 2020, so I’m an obvious mark for the new iPad Air. And after testing the 13-inch Air, I’m thinking about jumping on the big tablet bandwagon for the first time. Part of my reasoning is that the 13-inch iPad Air weighs less than the previous-generation 12.9-inch iPad Pro it is based on. Those tablets typically weighed in around 1.5 pounds, but the Air comes in at 1.36 pounds.

That doesn’t sound like a major difference, but it’s been just enough for me to feel more comfortable using the Air as a tablet rather than just docked in a keyboard case. It’s still a little more unwieldy than I’d like, and it’s still heavier and thicker than the new 13-inch iPad Pro. But, the iPad Air is $500 cheaper; at that price, I’m willing to accept a little trade-off.

The new 11-inch model is indistinguishable from the 10.9-inch one it replaces in dimensions, weight and screen size. Don’t let Apple fool you into thinking the screen is a whopping .1 inches bigger this year, because it’s not — the company is just rounding up. (The same goes for the 13-inch Air; it has the same 12.9-inch screen size and resolution as the old iPad Pro.)

The M2 chip is a big selling point for the iPad Air, but note that if you have the 2022 model with an M1, you won’t experience massive performance gains here. Geekbench 6 tests show that the M2’s GPU is about 30 percent faster than the M1, with lesser gains in single- and multi-core performance. But, compared to my 2020 iPad Pro with an A12Z processor, the M2 is more than twice as fast. So if you don’t have an iPad with an M-series chip, the new Air will be a major step forward.

That camera is basically the same as the one in the last iPad Air, but now that it’s on the landscape edge it’s much better for video calling when you’re using it with a keyboard. I’d actually consider taking work calls with the iPad now, something that wasn’t the case before.

I’m also very happy that the base iPad Air comes with 128GB of storage rather than the stingy 64GB it was stuck on last time. It’s far easier now to recommend people pick up the cheapest configuration. And you can also get up to 1TB of storage in the Air for the first time, if you need it.

Magic Keyboard and Apple Pencil Pro

The Air is stuck with the old Magic Keyboard, which is heavier and thicker than the new model and lacks the helpful row of function keys. The Magic Keyboard remains crazy expensive — $299 for the 11-inch and $349 for the 13-inch — but it’s still my favorite keyboard for an iPad. Well, it’s my favorite after the updated version for the iPad Pro. It’s comfortable, quiet and responsive, particularly considering how thin it is, and I have no problem banging out stories on it for hours at a time.

If you’re a fan of the Apple Pencil, though, the good news is that the iPad Air supports the brand-new Pencil Pro . I cover it in more detail in my iPad Pro review, but it does everything the older second-generation Apple Pencil can while adding new features like haptic feedback, Find My support, a squeeze gesture for bringing up menus and the ability to roll the Pencil in your hand to change the width of a brush thanks to built-in gyroscopes. It costs $129, which is the same as the second-generation Pencil. The only bad news is that the old Pencil isn’t compatible with the iPad Air because of a redesigned charging and pairing system that accommodates the landscape front camera.

What hasn’t changed

That’s essentially everything new about the iPad Air this year. The display remains the same standard Apple LCD, which looks very good for everything I use an iPad for. It’s definitely not in the same league as the new tandem OLED screen in the iPad Pro, or even the mini-LED display that came before it. I definitely noticed the comparatively worse brightness and contrast in the Air’s screen when comparing it side-by-side with the Pro. But, the good news is that I don’t spend all of my life comparing screens, and the iPad Air’s is still a strong selling point for the tablet. It’s laminated to the front glass, unlike the screen on the basic iPad, and it’s more than bright enough for indoor use.

The only thing I wish it had was a higher frame rate. The iPad Pro’s “ProMotion” feature adjusts the frame rate from 10-120hz, while the Air maxes out at 60hz. Over time, I stop noticing that the UI feels comparatively jerky in animations and don’t think about it too much. But whenever I switch back to the iPad Pro, I quickly appreciate how much smoother and more fluid everything feels.

The back camera is identical to the one on the prior iPad Air, which is fine. It’ll take a decent snapshot in good lighting and you can shoot video in 4K at a variety of frame rates. But you can’t record in the ProRes format — Apple limits that to the iPad Pro. But that likely will not be an issue for anyone considering an iPad Air. Similarly, the iPad Air’s USB-C port doesn’t support faster Thunderbolt 4 speed, but in my testing it was fine for pulling in RAW photos from my camera. If your workflow is such that you’ll use that port a lot and benefit from faster speeds, I will shockingly recommend you check out the Pro.

I haven’t even had the iPad Air for a week, so I’ve yet to run our time-intensive battery test. But from the daily use I’ve put in, it typically meets Apple’s 10-hour rating for light tasks like internet browsing or watching videos. Doing more processor-intensive tasks will surely wear it out faster, and I’ve noticed battery life tends to dip a bit when I’m using the Magic Keyboard. But, as with most iPads, you won’t need to reach for the charger too often.

Jumping back and forth between the iPad Air and Pro has emphasized how great of a value the Air is. I can’t deny there are a number of niceties that all add up to make the iPad Pro experience better. Face ID is clearly superior to Touch ID, for example — I quickly got tired of reaching for the power button to unlock the Air. The iPad Pro’s screen is the definition of luxury, and the improved keyboard case provides a slightly better experience. It’s also lighter and easier to hold, with better speakers, too. And, of course, it has that new M4 chip.

These things are all important and useful, but after getting used to the Air again, I don’t miss them too much. The M2 is plenty powerful for my needs, the Apple Pencil Pro experience is identical, the old Magic Keyboard is still great to type on, the screen is bright and colorful and — perhaps most importantly — it’s $500 cheaper than a comparable iPad Pro.

For some, that extra cash might be well worth it. There are some things the Pro can do that the Air cannot, like shooting ProRes video or go into Apple’s Reference Mode for improved color accuracy and consistency against a bunch of color standards. And the M4 will save time on processor-intensive jobs like rendering video. And some people will simply want to get the best iPad they can, money be damned.

But for the rest of us, the iPad Air is still here, offering 80-ish percent of the iPad Pro experience for a lot less money. And for the first time, there is a large-screen iPad at a much more approachable price. My heart may want an iPad Pro, but my head (and wallet) agree that the iPad Air is a far more reasonable option.

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‘hauntings,’ the ‘impossible’: ‘the exorcist’ and what you never knew about the iconic horror film.

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It takes a lot to scare kids in 2024.

With all the shiny new tricks of CGI movie technology , it is getting harder and harder to deliver that true spine-chilling internal fear that makes horror films so great.

Gen Z and Gen Alpha kids may arrogantly scoff at retro scary movies, but it hasn’t always been this way.

There was once a time when picture-goers were so viscerally terrified by what they were seeing on the big screen that it would trigger powerful physical reactions right there in the theater.

During Jaws (1975) people fainted and vomited in the cinema during some of the gruesome scenes, while others stopped going swimming in the ocean altogether out of pure fear.

Alfred Hitchcock’s classic film Psycho (1960) sparked mania during the infamous shower stabbing scene, with reports of people hyperventilating and passing out in their cinema chairs.

However, one of the most horrifying movies to ever hit the big screen, causing widespread panic, fear and repulsion, is William Friedkin’s The Exorcist (1973).

Based on William Peter Blatty’s 1971 novel, the film follows the demonic possession of a young girl and her mother’s attempt to rescue her through an exorcism by two Catholic priests.

With some wildly disturbing scenes, including some bizarre 360 degree head spinning, eerie spider-walking on the stairs and some disgusting projective lime-green vomit, it shocked those 1970s audiences to their core.

One particular vulgar scene involving a crucifix — that is too crude to describe here — shocked and upset many, especially considering the percentage of people who were religious back then.

The flick was so scary that even renowned Chicago Sun-Times film critic Roger Ebert was at a loss for words about how it made him feel.

“I am not sure exactly what reasons people will have for seeing this movie; surely enjoyment won’t be one,” he stated.

“Are people so numb they need movies of this intensity in order to feel anything at all?”

As disturbing as it was to viewers at the time, it was still insanely popular.

Eager moviegoers were lining up for days to nab a ticket and were even bribing security guards $110 ($773 in today) to skip to the front of the line.

One New York Times report from January 1974 reported on the unbelievable impact The Exorcist had on audiences – with some allegedly even having heart attacks and one woman suffering a miscarriage due to being so terrified.

“Once inside the theatre, a number of moviegoers vomited at the very graphic goings‐on on the screen,” the article read.

“Others fainted, or left the theatre, nauseous and trembling, before the film was half over. Several people had heart attacks, a guard told me. One woman even had a miscarriage, he said.”

As truly terrifying as the film was to see, have you ever heard about the even more horrifying happenings behind the scenes of The Exorcist ?

Was the film set haunted?

Many claim it was a “cursed” or “haunted” production, with some involved in the film meeting unfortunate fates.

Spooky things occurred on the movie set itself, rendering the entire production even more spine-tingling.

Apparently some staff at the cinema where film had its opening night met with tragedy.

An usher at the theatre fell under a subway train and lost his arm, while the mother of a cashier passed away.

During the making the movie, it has been reported that a whopping nine people died.

A huge fire also shut down production for more than a month and star Ellen Burstyn, who played the mother of possessed Regan, severely injured her back.

“I’m not a convert to the occult, but after all I’ve seen on this film, I definitely believe in demonic possession,” Director William Friedkin, who died aged 87 in August 2023, told horror magazine Castle of Frankenstein in 1974

“There are things that cannot be treated by medical or psychiatric mean. It seems strange, foreign and impossible, but it exists.

“We were plagued by strange and sinister things from the beginning, it is simply the hardest thing I have ever done in my life.”

Friedkin said his first brush with “bad karma” during production came when the statue of Pazuzu – the film’s evil spirit – did not arrive in Mosul, Iraq, as planned.

The prop, which was built in and shipped from Burbank, California, mysteriously wound up in Denmark instead.

“It was lost,” the director said onstage at a 45th anniversary event.

“We couldn’t start shooting in Iraq for three or four weeks.”

A far more treacherous delay happened later on at 20th Century Fox’s then-studio on West 54th Street in New York City, when a fiery blaze enveloped the MacNeil house in the early hours of the morning.

Bizarrely, the incident occurred during the time they were filming the famous exorcism scene.

“The production manager called me at 4am and said, ‘Don’t bother to come to work today,’” Friedkin recalled.

“I said, ‘why? Am I fired?’.

“He told me ‘no, but the set has just burned to the ground’.”

Even more chilling was that while the fire seemed to destroy the entire house, but the room where they filmed the exorcism was miraculously completely unscathed.

The accident, it turns out, was caused by a pigeon that flew into a light box.

After six weeks of rebuilding, filming resumed.

Actress Ellen Burstyn was whacked in the face by the possessed Regan during one scene, causing her to fall backward.

A stuntman with a wire attached to Bustyn’s waist would then rapidly pull her toward the wall.

The actress, who was 40 during the filming of the movie, recalled being “pushed to the brink” filming this scene over and over again.

After three attempts, Burstyn finally said to the director the he was “pulling too hard, ask him to lighten up” with Friedkin replying that “it has to look real”.

Sadly, she was right.

On the fourth take, the actress landed so hard on her coccyx she yelped in excruciating pain.

Friedkin, Burstyn claimed, seized upon the genuine moment and put the still-rolling camera on her.

“I was furious when he did that, exploiting the pain I was feeling,” she said.

“Since then, I’ve always had trouble with my back.”

While no accidents during the filming of the movie were fatal, a whopping nine people involved or associated with the production died during it.

“There were nine deaths, which is an enormous amount of deaths connected with the film,” she said in a documentary about the film called The Fear Of God ( 1998) .

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“Some very directly, like the actor Jack MacGowran, who gets killed in the film, completed shooting and died.”

MacGowran played Burke Dennings, the film director who is killed by Regan. The Irish thespian died of influenza at age 54 during the London flu epidemic.

“The assistant cameraman whose wife had a baby during the shoot — the baby died. The man who refrigerated the set died. The young black nightwatchman died,” she continued.

Vasiliki Maliaros, who played the mother of Father Karras (Jason Miller), also passed away during production in February 1973 at age 89.

Joe Hyams, the movie’s publicist, was extremely unnerved by all the unexpected death happening around him during the filming of The Exorcist.

“These weren’t casualties from stunts or things like that. These were men standing behind the camera and all of a sudden dropping dead,” he said.

Subliminal horror

One aspect of The Exorcist that makes it so incredibly creepy is the subliminal imagery throughout the film.

The director did this in order to unsettle viewers.

The sound of bees was used in some early sequences, as this apparently can trigger an innate fear response in most people.

While you might not know you feel uncomfortable, your flight-of-fight instinct is screaming that something dangerous is near.

While the buzzing of bees is a primal fear, Friedkin said he also layered in “disturbing industrial sounds” in the background of the demon scenes, creating a subconscious desire to back away from danger.

The most notable subliminal trick however is the infamous “white face” that flashes for just a fraction of a second during Father Karras’ dream about his deceased mother.

The face was never meant to be detected by audiences.

But after the introduction of VHS tapes, viewers were able to pause and see it properly for the first time.

“You couldn’t catch it before VHS,” Friedkin lamented.

“And now you can stop the DVD and stare at it.”

That face is actually the stand-in for Regan, played by Linda Blair.

The makeup was actually the first proposal for the little girl’s demon appearance before the settled on the mutilation motif.

“She had all-white face and red lips,” Friedkin said.

“I didn’t like the makeup for the demon, but viewed as a quick cut, it’s very frightening.”

It has now been over 50 years since The Exorcist hit our screens and many would agree it is still are horrifying as ever over five decades later.

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Air review — Matt Damon and Ben Affleck’s reunion is box-fresh

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AIR: streaming date, reviews, trailer, cast and everything we know about the Ben Affleck, Matt Damon Nike movie

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