10 Insane Recent Movie Moments That Came Out Of Nowhere
6. Air - Flash-Forward
Six years after Live by Night flopped. Ben Affleck finally returned to the director's chair to make this awesome true-life drama, which told the story of Nike's efforts to strike a business deal with Michael Jordan so that he will sponsor a new basketball shoe line.
With Air, Affleck reminded us just what we'd been missing, as he did a fantastic job of making a cinematic and visually striking film that was mostly people talking in rooms - this razor-sharp inclusion of documentary footage provided the best showcase of this.
During a meeting with Michael Jordan (Damian Young) and his parents (Viola Davis and Julius Tennon), Nike's basketball talent scout Sonny Vaccaro (Matt Damon) launches into an insanely great monologue warning Jordan of the many trials and tribulations he will inevitably face in his sporting journey, but saying that he'll be an inspiration to all Americans. As he puts it, "Your story will make us want to fly."
During this speech, documentary footage of Jordan's future life is inserted, an unexpected yet phenomenally effective example of meta cinema that lends even greater weight to Vaccaro's words. Regardless of how good the picture is overall, this scene alone makes it worth watching.