Directed by Michael B. Jordan.
Starring Michael B. Jordan as Adonis Creed; Jonathan Majors as Damien, Creed’s childhood friend; Wood Harris as Tony, Creed’s business partner; Phylicia Rashad as Mary-Anne, Creed’s mother; Tessa Thompson as Bianca, now Creed’s wife.
Gail Arneke
This movie is the seventh in the Rocky series. The first Creed came out in 2015. The full series began in 1976, and this is the first made without Sylvester Stallone, once so great a part of Creed’s life, not to mention the franchise. But do not worry, the boxing is still great, and the movie is still the story of an American man, although now the focus has shifted. Rocky Balboa was a poor white kid, scrambling for success to show the world his worth. Creed is now an established Black man, a stable, solid force moving above and beyond. His wife Bianca has given up music and supports her man firmly and without reservation. Phylicia Rashad was born to play a good mother, and she does so here. The cast works well.
Creed is a strong figure in the local Black community, demonstrating the fullness of masculinity, self-reliance, the need for love in a balanced life. He is also the representative here of the continuity of past and present, and the effects when past merges with present.
Damien, who Creed finds leaning against his car, has not seen the hero in many years. Damien, now also wealthy, has not forgotten his youthful dreams of becoming a champion fighter. He had a promising career in Golden Glove fighting. His career was sidetracked and eventually derailed by a stint in jail, and now he wants to get back in the game. He might be described as an object lesson for the younger viewer.
Creed is bogged down a bit by a tragic subplot. I will not go into it, but I will say it may contain the thread of an extension of the Creed franchise and that it is a true tear jerker.
Skipping the sublot, but warning viewers to bring their Kleenex, the fighting goes on, beautifully choreographed as alway in this filmic world. Virtue plays its usual outstanding role, the drama surges. Creed has been described as a “knockout drama,” and it is just that. The acting is superb. Creed is clearly Michael B. Jordan’s movie, directorally and as an actor. It is his strong and elegant show. If you want an excellently made, deeply American story with superb acting, see Creed. If you are not a boxing fan, go anyway. How many really good tear-jerkers do we get these days?
‘Air’ Is Fun
Directed by Ben Affleck.
Starring Matt Damon as Sonny Vacaro. Jason Bateman as Nike marketing executive Rob Strasser, Ben Affleck as Phil Knight, Chris Tucker as former player and now Nike Executive Howard White, Chris Messina as Michael Jordan’s agent David Falk, Julius Tennon as James Jordan, Damien Delano Young as Michael Jordan or maybe as Damien Delano Young, the purely wonderful Viola Davis as Deloris Jordan
Gail Arneke
Air Jordan is a triumph as a sports/business movie. How many movies are there, anyway, about business contracts not involving Wall Street? It is a comedy/drama about one of the great commercial partnerships of recent history, a contract that changed athletic footwear, sports stardom and athletic marketing in one fell swoosh.
Air Jordan is, of course, the story of how Nike and Michael Jordan reached their pact, making Air Jordans the top shoe in the world.
In common with Creed III, the movie is directed by one of its stars, Ben Affleck. He is a seriously good director, and his character, Nike’s Phil Knight is highly entertaining as one of the key players in the deal. All of the acting is superb, and none of it goes over the top, although it certainly could have gone there. There is a general air of good will despite the character’s disparate stances on the proposed deal.
The movie is anchored by Matt Damon as Sonny Vacaro, the Nike executive scheming to sign a top basketball recruit to a contract for a signature shoe that will bring fame to Nike while the player achieves fame on the court and brings riches to both parties. Sonny is a driven man. He is something of a self-enclosed, driven striver. What makes Sonny run? His vision of the huge deal does it. He picks Jordan as the most likely key to success and goes for him, all out. Sonny wears Members Only jackets most of the time, he’s chubby and as unattractive as Matt Damon can get, and he buys his meals primarily at a convenience store in his neighborhood. He has only one goal.
We all know what happens. Sonny achieves his goal, Air Jordans are coveted by the masses, all is well. But rather than diminishing the movie, this lack of tension allows for character development and humor.
Chris Messina is hilarious as Michael Jordan’s agent; there is one phone call, profanity filled and achingly funny, that almost steals the show. The Nike suits, Affleck, Jason Bateman and Chris Tucker are cool and often deadpan humorous in their roles. There’s the situation as a light part of a negotiation.
When Viola Davis steps on-stage, the drama becomes clear, as do the racial stakes that have mostly lurked in the background. Davis, as always, is great. She wants the best for her child. She is stable, settled. She knows herself and what she wants and does not want, what her son needs and doesn’t need. As she deals with Sonny, the contrast between the two could not be clearer. She has all that knowledge, Sonny has sort of a temporary-feeling, driven and hardly settled life. Deloris knows who she is; Sonny knows what he wants. She has a clearly stated philosophy and clear goals; he has this deal that will make him or not, he doesn’t really think beyond that goal. To use a favorite phrase of my late grandmother, Deloris straightens Sonny right out. Everything comes to pass as it should, and as it did.
Air Jordan is of course set in the mid 1980s, so for some the background music and I suppose zeitgeist will be nostalgic. For others, ancient history. The effects, especially musical choices, sometimes hit the mark and occasionally do not.
The greatest directorial choice of Air Jordan was not to have anyone really play the young Michael Jordan. Who could? So when Damien Delano Young is seen, he is seen from the back or hazily from the side. That choice was wonderful. Air Jordan would have suffered if some copy of the young Michael Jordan were brought in, facing the camera and not looking at all like the actual young Michael viewers can see on the internet any time.
All in all, Air Jordan is a fine movie. If it is not out on Prime now, it will be soon. So watch it.