Critic's Corner

Air: Affleck's New Homage to the 80's

Apr 09, 2023

Words of Wisdom Ben Affleck Probably Read on the Toilet

Ben Affleck’s Air is a fun, feel-pretty-good movie that reminds us of simpler times. I suspect Ben craves those simpler times. He seems to be doing okay now, so it’s fair to acknowledge that Ben Affleck had a rough go for a while.

Ben Affleck Pictured Here Having a Rough Go

To get out of a rough go, a lot of people rely on inspirational quotes from books typically found in bathrooms or framed office artwork displaying landscapes with hopeful phrases like “persevere” or “teamwork.”. Air, a movie I really liked, is a love song for those people.

Ben Affleck Celebrating a Business Deal as Phil Knight

Air is a well-shot, funny, smart movie about a singular business transition that changed the landscape of professional sports: Jordan opened the floodgates for power to return to the ones producing the labor: the players. Like the transaction, this movie had small stakes. I guess by being somewhat meaningless, Air is saying something about the meaningfulness of all our actions.

I especially liked Matt Damon playing Sonny like an out-of-shape, “past his prime” guy pretending he’s negotiating the Time Warner merger. At the time, there was no way anyone could have known how successful the Jordan deal would turn out. But Damon gave his all, and it elevates this little movie.

The Good Will Hunting Duo Should Continue Working Together

Ben Affleck’s Phil Knight has a similar role. Affleck played Knight as a bumbling fool who rambles off meaningless sayings without really doing anything substantial. This movie made me think Ben Affleck’s rough-go killed his ego. And I’m loving this grounded, mushroom eating, egoless Ben Affleck. And I hope he brings Matt Damon along for the next little adventure to remind us that a couple doofuses can accomplish big things too. Air is showing in theaters now. It doesn’t demand to be seen on a bigscreen, but go to the theaters. You’ll regret it when Amazon owns them all and plays every movie in 4D.

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