(ESP-ENG) Air - More than a shoe, it is a brand!

Hello friends, good vibes to all.

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The films that focus on the birth of a brand or a product lately seem to be catching a brutal boom, it is not new, it already has some time but every day these productions continue to be born that at least to me call my attention powerfully. At the time I saw the story behind Spotify, more recently I saw the film of Tetris, yes, the famous Russian game and how it saw the light after a merciless struggle with the Soviet Union, until finally reaching what is perhaps the most important and influential brand of sporting goods in the world. Will these types of films continue to come out? - Of course, in fact, there is "BLACKBERRY", that device that revolutionized the world a little more than 10 years ago; film that I have pending to see.

But focusing on this movie in particular is to talk about a brand that has moved millions and millions of dollars, and it is not Nike as such, it is Air Jordan. Personally I am a fan of the brand, of the era, of the player, of everything he represented and still represents and of those times when the Chicago Bulls were unstoppable. I think that for those who do not know very well all this world is better to see first "The Last Dance" on Netflix and then come back to this film, I assure you it will give you a little more context. But beware that this story has a detail, this is not about Michael Jordan, no sir, this is about the birth of the brand in the hands of Nike and how they manage to achieve the impossible. But well, let's go deeper with this interesting story.

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This story has several protagonists but let's start with the two main ones. Sonny Vaccaro (Matt Damon) who is a recruiter and talent scout for Nike and Phil Knight (Ben Affleck) who is the CEO of the company. At that time, in the mid-eighties, Nike's basketball division was going through its worst moments because its products were not selling because Adidas and Converse, yes you read that right, were the ones who were at the top in terms of sales of shoes and apparel for this sport. Nike only sold clothes and products for running and other sports that are not really mass and that was something they wanted to change but to achieve it they needed a star, a player who would make a difference both in the present and in the future.

After much thought they decided to go all in for Michael, he was just a rookie but these men already saw the potential that years later he would develop and exploit. It was a risky bet, but let's see, if you don't risk, you don't win. The thing is that these conversations are not with Michael but with his mother, Deloris Jordan (Viola Davis) so she is the one who must be convinced first. Basically the movie is about the efforts that Sonny, Rob Strasser (Jason Bateman) and the vice president of that division Howard White (Chris Tucker) make to change the opinion of a young Jordan who was married to Adidas. As you can see the cast in itself is crazy, a lot of quality in these names, another reason not to miss it.

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There is something interesting and that is that Ben Affleck spoke with Michael to tell him about the film and he asked him for a couple of things. The first is that his mother had to be played by Viola, one of the best actresses in Hollywood today and the second is that the character of Howard White had to be there since he was a pillar in the whole story behind Nike and Jordan's relationship. For me it was the right decision because both Davis and Tucker are incredible in this film, Viola's sobriety is amazing, the way she plays a mother who is known to be a tough one and that the only thing she wants is the best for her son since she knows more than anyone the potential he has is one of the best things in this film.

I understand that this film is not for everyone and if you are not in tune with any of this you may not find it interesting. I understand that, but it's a mistake to think like that. Everything that has to do with the Air brand is something that marked a before and after not only in sports but culturally in people, in how from its birth people began to consume clothes in another way, shoes were no longer an item in the wardrobe, it was an aspirational piece that everyone wanted to have, it was to be closer to the player in this case and the value of that is incalculable. Vaccaro understood that, the need for the player and the shoe to be one, wrapped by the brand that would sell billions of pairs in the world. And this is precisely what the plot is about, how they reach that conclusion after failure after failure.

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The film lasts a little less than two hours, time in which we see how the whole process was to convince the incredulous within the same team that it was possible to carry out such a proposal. It was dangerous because everything was betting on a single person, so the possibilities were complicated. Something I liked is that they used Nike's commandments as a company to support each decision taken, I read what it says and based on that, I execute. Undoubtedly it is a story of success, of believing, perseverance and confidence in what you have, hence Nike is what it is today. I also liked that unspoken rivalry with the other companies, as they were very predictable and not enough for Michael and on that premise Nike worked to reach out, in this case, to his mom.

As for the entire cast I must say that it is very top, they are actors well known for playing their roles well. There are no outstanding or spectacular performances, it is not a film for that, but I consider that what they sought was to capture the essence of each person and bring it to the screen, the best example is Viola Davis. The fact that the mother was the protagonist instead of Michael tells us what the mother figure is for Jordan, we know that when his father died this represented a very hard blow for Michael so it didn't bother me at all that the basketball star didn't have a leading role. In general all the performances were good, simple but direct and to the point.

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In short, it is a story that goes in one way, there are no jumps or big surprises, as I said before super basic and straightforward. Don't be misled into thinking that this is synonymous with something bad because it's not, the film achieves its purpose which is to show the whole creative process and the level of negotiation and important decisions that were made at the time. I liked it, I give it a 7.7/10 because it was what I expected, with this kind of films the important thing is that you have fun and at the end you end up knowing more about the product or brand in question. You can find it on Prime Video. Here is the trailer so you can take a look at it.

Well my people that's all for today, I hope you liked it.
¡A hug to everyone, see you next time!