The Halcyonite

A 2-hour Glorified Nike Advertisement That is Unexpectedly Entertaining Nonetheless

By Liam ‘24

(Image source: IMDb)

I will spare you the frequent basketball puns surrounding reviews of this movie, but I can say that AIR took an idea with legs, put some shoes on them, and “just did it” with finesse. 

Despite its name, AIR was a solid movie. It reveals the story behind the Air Jordan sneaker with class and snappy dialogue–particularly between Matt Damon’s and Viola Davis’ characters–and integrates lightheartedness with sincerity almost flawlessly. The plot was tight, and stayed together while moving forward, like a good sneaker should, but still left time to realize the importance of the characters in this historic sports moment, especially Deloris Jordan, Michael Jordan’s mother portrayed by Davis.

The 1984 setting allows for the classic modern-day approach to nostalgia in movies, which is fully illustrated in the intro where a montage of 80s themed clips and objects are compiled while Dire Straits’ “Money For Nothing” blasts in the background (which further research reveals was released a year after the events of the movie, but hey, it worked, so really who cares?) This however does show an issue with a lot of modern movies set in the 80s–it tends to rely too much on the nostalgia factor as opposed to actually creating its own world. Yet in this case it does mostly add to the film, as it well sets the context up for the time. It doesn’t feel forced, but definitely feels like a crutch at times made to appeal to those missing a previous time.

A lot of the movie just involves a lot of people talking, as nothing much really happens besides the characters discussing the risks and insanity of some of them, but such is real life, so I suppose there was not much choice in this department. These scenes were definitely not boring, but probably does not appeal to everyone. Something that also might disappoint viewers is the creative choice of not including Michael Jordan as a character whose face we see. This was clearly deliberate, and highlights the importance of other people in this story besides the obvious, so this was a successful choice, but many will feel let down thinking this is a movie about Michael Jordan.

While it seems like a 2-hour advert, it definitely leans towards the “funny-and-entertaining-infomercial” rather than “just-another-shoe-ad.” I recommend checking it out, so grab your Nikes and walk to the nearest cinema, if you have the time.

Final Rating: 7/10