Ben Affleck’s AIR will drop on Prime Video on May 12 after massive 98% Rotten Tomatoes rating

Ben Affleck's latest film AIR will be dropping on Prime Video on May 12.

It looks like Affleck and Matt Damon haven't lost their touch, as the biopic scored an impressive 98 per cent on Rotten Tomatoes' audience rating.

But what is this acclaimed film all about?

The film follows Nike, which is looking to reinvigorate its brand by putting all its faith into a new rookie basketball player being the face of the sportswear manufacturer.

Unless you've been living under a rock, the player is none other than Michael Jordan, and the product the brand is launching is, you guessed it, Air Jordan.

Around that time, Converse had already signed up superstars like Larry Bird and Magic Johnson, whereas Adidas was attracting some of the hottest upcoming players out of the draft.

Sonny Vaccaro (Damon) was an executive with Nike, and up to the mid-'80s, he hadn’t had much success recruiting top players to the brand.

However, the executive put all his eggs in one basket and recruited the newly-signed Jordan to join the Nike family.

Vaccaro pitches that the company will design a shoe inspired by the athlete, creating a partnership that would go on to revolutionise the world of sports and contemporary culture.

Amazon Studios/Warner Bros. Pictures

Rotten Tomatoes-accredited ABC Radio film critic Matt Neil gave the film four stars, calling it ‘the perfect '80s movie’.

“Inspired by The Last Dance, Air serves as a perfect entrée to that acclaimed Netflix doco series. But best of all, Affleck has done a Moneyball/The Big Short; he's taken something esoteric and niche and made it enjoyable light entertainment for the world at large,” he said.

Robert Ebert marvelled at the ‘sharp and snappy script’ all wrapped up in an ‘entertaining package - one that’s old-fashioned but also alive and crowd-pleasing’.

While Manohla Dargis for The New York Times praised Affleck’s directing that championed the talents of Damon and Viola Davis, who plays Deloris Jordan, the legendary basketball player’s mother.

“As Affleck cuts back and forth between Sonny and Deloris, filling the screen with close-ups that let you track every rivulet of emotion, it’s hard not to be moved, including by the sight of these exceptional actors who, with heart and talent, ever so briefly turn a story about capitalism into a referendum on the soul of a nation,” she writes.

Make sure you clear the calendar for May 12, people.

Topics: News, Celebrity, TV and Film, Sport, Basketball, Amazon Prime

Charisa Bossinakis

Charisa Bossinakis is an Associative Journalist at LADbible. Charisa has worked across various media platforms including, print, digital, radio and podcasting while maintaining the highest regard for quality work and integrity. She also covered everything from breaking news, to pop culture, entertainment and politics and is part of the editorial team for LADbible.

@CBossinakis