Confession time: I wasn’t a fan of Michael Jordan during his playing career. I was a fan of the late 80s-early 90s “Bad Boys” Pistons and Jordan and the Bulls were the hated rivals. I never quite got over that. So, naturally, I never had any interest in obtaining a pair of Air Jordans. So, a few decades later, could I find a movie about the creation of the Air Jordan to be a worthwhile watch? Thanks to a great cast, a streamlined script, and an “air” of not taking itself too seriously, the answer is, “Absolutely.” For a movie about product marketing, Air is a lot of fun.

The movie about the Air Jordan is not really about Michael Jordan the human being at all. Director Ben Affleck goes out of his way to never even show the face of the actor standing in for Jordan in the few scenes where he’s needed. Instead, the focal character is Sonny Vaccaro (Matt Damon), a basketball talent scout for Nike, who, at the time, was a running shoe company who’s basketball business was not all that. It’s 1984, and the basketball department is considering signing a few lesser picks from that year’s draft (they couldn’t have gone too wrong with maybe getting Charles Barkley or certainly getting John Stockton). Instead, Sonny wants to go all in to push for Jordan, who he thinks is going to be legendary. That idea–farfetched because Jordan is a massive fan of market leader Adidas at the time–comes to him when he sees a commercial for Arthur Ashe’s tennis racket with the pitch that you can play with the exact same racket that Ashe plays with. The idea: create a shoe especially for Jordan and then sell people the shoe that Jordan plays in. If Vaccaro’s right that Jordan is going to change the game, then Nike’s basketball division becomes a real player in the market. The only problem is that Sonny has to convince everyone–his supervisors in the basketball department (Jason Bateman and Chris Tucker), CEO Phil Knight (Affleck), and Jordan…by way of his mother Deloris (Viola Davis). First, can Sonny even get a meeting with Jordan? And, if he does, how do they top what Adidas and second-place rival Converse can offer? Spoiler alert: we know they do (you have heard of the Air Jordan, right?), but how they do it is still a great story.

Air works primarily on the strength of its really strong cast. This is my favorite Matt Damon performance in years. He nails a sense of dedication to finding the best basketball players he can…and not a whole lot else. Damon plays unglamorous really well, putting on a bit of weight and carrying himself like someone who spends most of his waking hours watching basketball games. His physical schlubbiness is coupled with lots most of the juiciest dialogue, including more than one fine inspirational monologue. He may be at his best when he gets one great scene with Viola Davis, the other truly standout performance of the film. Deloris is the brains and the steely resolve behind Team Jordan, all of which is played in the calmest of ways. Davis can certainly burn the screen up whenever the role calls for it, but her quiet resolve here is incredibly affecting.

While Damon and Davis were the top of the heap, all of the performances are great. Affleck plays the combination of Knight’s business savvy and new-age flakiness well. Chris Messina couples charm and smarm well as Jordan’s agent. Jason Bateman doesn’t get the flashiest of roles, but there is some meaty emotional work there. And it is really great to see Chris Tucker do a great job as Howard White, one of the Nike executives who helped make the deal. Jordan’s blessing required White’s character to be in the movie, and Tucker fills out what could have been a truly minor role.

Behind the camera, the highlight is the script; every scene moves either the story or the characters forward, and most of the lines of dialogue feel right. Director Affleck refuses to get too flashy. For the most part, the story and the performances are the draw. And, from Gone, Baby, Gone to The Town to his Best Picture-winning Argo, Affleck has always had a sense for making those main things the main things. There is definitely an 80’s vibe in the design elements (right down to Affleck’s perm), but it doesn’t get in the way. Air is as competently made as it needs to be.

When you think of a fun time with a movie, sports marketing isn’t the first thing that comes to mind. But Air is plenty of fun. Maybe not as fun as watching Jordan in his prime–when he wasn’t beating your favorite team–or getting your own pair of Jordans and hitting the court. But still a whole lot of fun.

Air is streaming on Amazon Prime.

(Photo Credit: Amazon Studios)