AIR
(12) 112mins
★★★★☆
A MOVIE about Nike trying to get basketball star Michael Jordan to endorse their trainers doesn’t sound that gripping.
But, to me, nor does a sport where towering athletes have to throw a ball into a hoop that is generally only three and a half feet above them.
Air is a big comeback for its leads and is Ben Affleck’s biggest and best role since Gone Girl
An original touch is that Michael Jordan himself is a non-character in this
What makes basketball entertaining is the speed at which it’s played.
What makes Air so much fun is the deft humour of its stars Matt Damon, Ben Affleck and Viola Davis.
Affleck hasn’t been in a really good film since Gone Girl almost a decade ago, while Damon’s work has been hit and miss.
This is a welcome return to form for the Good Will Hunting pals.
Damon is the lead, playing wheeler dealer basketball obsessive Sonny Vaccaro who needs to convince multiple doubters that Nike can sign rookie university player Jordan.
Back in 1984, when this film based on a true story is set, Nike was mainly known for making jogging shoes and Jordan preferred the far cooler Adidas brand.
Jogging jokes are quite literally a running gag throughout the film.
Affleck plays Nike co-founder Phil Knight, who tries his best to convert the out-of-shape Vaccaro to breathing exercises.
Making fun of the Eighties is an easy target, although I have seen the old “wow, they have a phone in a car” scene too often.
The most engrossing moments are between Damon and Davis, who portrays Jordan’s mum Deloris.
She is the business-savvy parent that Vaccaro needs to persuade.
But unknown to him, wily Deloris has plans of her own.
Oscar-winner Davis is at the top of her game and is sure to be nominated for a few more awards for this performance.
What is the point of this movie?
Air seems to say that sometimes you need to break the rules in order to get what you want.
Director Affleck, though, doesn’t stray out of the normal lines of the sporting movie field.
The only original touch is not showing the face of the person this whole story revolves around — Michael Jordan himself.
But if you liked Affleck’s Argo or Damon’s Le Mans ’66 then you’ll be sure to enjoy Air.
It’s a film with a spring in its step.
OPERATION FORTUNE: RUSE DE GUERRE
(15) 114mins
★★★☆☆
DIRECTOR Guy Ritchie gives viewers a textbook serving of his classic of action caper, with lots of violence, silly accents, slick tailoring and comic twists.
Wine-swigging and sweary spy Orson Fortune (Jason Statham) is enlisted on a mission to prevent sleazy arms dealer Greg Simmonds (Hugh Grant, deploying a Michael Caine drawl) selling lethal technology to a faction of villainous wrong’uns.
Director Guy Ritchie gives a textbook serving of the classic action caper with silly accents and comedic twists
With his fellow operatives, Sarah (White Lotus’s Aubrey Plaza) and JJ (Rapper Bugzy Malone), he enlists Hollywood actor Danny Francesco (Josh Hartnett) and goes undercover, jetting off to exotic locations to save the world.
The punch-up-packed plot lacks enough substance to sustain almost two hours’ screen time, no matter how much you love a good fight scene or explosion.
But the colourful script repeatedly rescues the lagging by poking fun and delivering on real humour.
The perky cast all appear to be having a genuine whale of a time with Grant and Plaza in particular relishing slam-dunking their droll, facetious one-liners.
Full of folly, but all the more fun for it.
THE SUPER MARIO BROS. MOVIE
(PG) 92mins
★★★☆☆
FOR long-time fans of Super Mario and its various video game spin-offs, The Super Mario Bros. Movie will be right up their street.
This 90-minute bombastic caper is chock-a-block with high-octane references and colourful set pieces to bolster what is a rather simple story about never giving up.
This bombastic caper is a love letter to the world of Super Mario and to fans of the famous Nintendo games
Chris Pratt and Charlie Day take on voice duty for Mario and his timid brother Luigi and, thankfully, the stereotypical Italian accents are kept to a minimum.
The Brooklyn plumbing duo are a laughing stock to their friends but when they get sucked into a pipe and delivered to the magical realm of the Mushroom Kingdom, they get a chance to play heroes.
But the titular brothers are not the stand-outs of this movie.
Those honours go out to Keegan Michael Key’s spunky Toad, Seth Rogen’s macho Donkey Kong, and Jack Black’s antagonist Bowser whose comic delivery is note-perfect.
And in true irreverent Black fashion, he delivers a hilarious ballad that you might just leave the cinema singing.
This is a love letter to the world of Super Mario and a joy to dive into.
