Air Is The Most Overrated Movie Of The Decade
I finally saw Air this weekend. I say finally because there was so much buzz around it that it seemed like a movie that simply couldn't be missed. 100% on Rotten Tomatoes is what they said! *MovieRankings.net is much better. A star studded cast featuring Matt Damon, Ben Affleck, Viola Davis, Chris Tucker, Jason Bateman and more. And it's about the Jordan 1! One of the greatest sneakers of all-time. Seems like a can't miss! And honestly, I'm not sure that it did, I was glad that I watched it. But it was nowhere near what everyone said. Best sports movie ever?! Best picture of the year?! NOT EVEN CLOSE!
SPOILERS BELOW
I wanted to sleep on this take because I felt like I'd get slaughtered for it. It seemed like Air was everyone's favorite movie lately. We even had weird Air stans coming out of the woodwork trying to slander far superior sports movies.
I'm a sneakerhead, or at least I used to be. I'm a fan of Matt Damon and Ben Affleck. I love Chris Tucker. Viola Davis is one of the greatest actresses of all-time. Jason Bateman is outstanding. And again, it was a solid flick. But a wise man (Big Cat) said the mark of a great movie is if you're thinking about it the next day.
There is really nothing to think about with this movie. There is no love interest. The conclusion is never really in the balance (both because we all know Michael Jordan signed with Nike, but also because both Adidas and Converse are never built up as real threats to toil the movie's storyline), and worst of all, there is no real emotional peak. The most emotional part in the movie is a scene when Jason Bateman's character is talking about his daughter who is taking his divorce really hard. She only likes seeing him weekly at the park for a few hours because he brings her new Nikes. We never meet the daughter. We never meet his ex-wife. That's the only real nugget into her personal life and Jason Bateman is the fourth most important character in the movie at best.
Air is 112 minutes of a good American story with a superb cast. I wouldn't say it's the best acted movie I've ever seen despite one of the best casts you'll ever see and I was never really hooked. It was an enjoyable movie that will be a good airplane watch but it's never a movie you'll discuss with friends or overly recommend to people. If you saw Air you probably liked it. If you didn't see Air, you probably had just as much fun doing whatever else it was you were doing.