This space has never been used for a movie review before. Frankly, it is because there have been a pitifully few movies lately to be excited enough about to review them.

Earlier this week I viewed a wonderful exception to the rule. “Air”, which deals with the true-to-life signing of then future NBA legend Michael Jordan by Nike. Directed by Ben Affleck, who also plays the role of Phil Knight, the co-founder of Nike, this is a fun and entertaining film.

No special effects. No computer-generated graphics. Nothing explodes -just good film making, with great dialogue and colorful characters, like films used to be and rarely are now.

As Logan Butts, Shelbyville Center High School and Lipscomb University graduate, wrote in his review of the movie in the Nashville Scene, “if this movie isn’t a huge hit, we might as well give up on the idea of the studio-level adult drama altogether.”

In 1984 Nike, known for its running shoes, was a distant third in the basketball shoe market behind Converse and Adidas. Sonny Vaccaro, who worked for Nike’s underfunded basketball division, was the visionary who decided to go all out for Jordan before he had ever played a game for the Chicago Bulls. The rest, as they say, is history.

Matt Damon plays Vaccaro. He spent time with the real-life Vaccaro in preparation for the role. Damon is outstanding, but the film belongs to Viola Davis in the role of Jordan’s mother, Deloris. In fact, the word is Jordan specifically stated he would not give the film a go-ahead if Davis didn’t play his mother. She is more than up to the task.

While Damon and Davis are outstanding, Chris Tucker as Nike executive Howard White, and Chris Messina, cast as Jordan’s agent, steal every scene they are in.

Like most movies based on true events some dramatic license is used. I won’t get specific about those, but according to Vaccaro in an interview with Vanity Fair, he never visited the Jordan’s in their Wilmington, North Carolina home but did talk

with Deloris on the phone several times. Their first in-person meeting was when the Jordans visited the Nike offices in Beaverton, Oregon.

Nike quickly developed a shoe especially suited to Jordan and named, appropriately, “Air Jordan.” The gamble to sign Jordan paid off for both Nike and Jordan. As part of the negotiations Deloris insisted Michael be paid a royalty for every “Air Jordan” shoe sold. Nike agreed setting a new precedent in sports marketing.

It is hard to find anything wrong with the film, but some have complained the actor playing Jordan is only seen from behind, though the real Michael is shown in video clips. In several interviews Affleck has explained the reasoning behind not showing the actor’s face was because no one was going to believe an actor was Michael Jordan.

I have to admit the film was nostalgic for me. As a sportswriter I covered Charles Barkley, Melvin Turpin and Patrick Ewing when they were college players. I also talked with Jordan when he made a stop in Nashville during his ill-fated attempt at baseball as a member of the minor league Birmingham Barons.

This movie appears to be on a roll to be a hit. I strongly recommend it.