“What’s your favorite sneaker?” can be just as hard to answer as “what’s your favorite movie?” But what if we shake things up and ask…what’s your favorite sneaker from a movie?!??!
Before we get started, we have to separate this into two categories. There have been shoes made for films and shoes worn in films. For example, in 1986, James Cameron needed a futuristic shoe for his movie Aliens. The “Alien Stomper” was created.
In 1990, director Chris Columbus gives the world his movie Home Alone. In the film, Kevin McCallister just happens to wear the Adidas Forum Low. That’s how we will separate the two. So grab your remote for Netflix and pop your popcorn so we can dive into more than you ever wanted to know about the ‘Stomper’ and ‘Forum’ and all the best sneakers in films.
But what is YOUR favorite movie sneaker? If you have been a Mid90s reader for the last few sneaker articles, you know I love James Cameron movies. In 1991, Terminator 2 drops and John Connor is wearing the Jordan 5 Metallic.
My favorite shoe of all time. So it has to be MY favorite movie shoe. Do I love the close up shot of Kyle Reese tightening the strap of his Nike Vandals? Absolutely. But it’s not a Jordan 5…
Now five years earlier, Cameron needed a shoe for the masterpiece Aliens. The film is set in the year 2122. Designer Tuan Le took the mold of the Reebok BB 5600 and created the “Alien Stomper”. In the climax of the film (spoilers) the shoe had to come off easily as the alien queen pulled off Ripley’s stomper before flying out the air lock of the Nostromo. Le added a fold over strap because laces or Velcro could be a problem for the scene. The shoe came in two cuts, a high and a mid. Ripley wore the high and Bishop (Lance Henriksen) wore the mid.
Compare this to the shoe that Kevin McCallister wore in the 1990 movie Home Alone. In this movie, Kev wears the Adidas Forum Low. The Forum Hi was released in 1984 and at the time was the most expensive basketball shoe ever released at $100. The shoe was released during the Los Angeles Olympics. The men’s Olympic basketball team played in the LA Forum which is how the shoe received its name “The Forum”. And yes, MJ wore the forum in the Olympics before he signed with Nike.
In 1990, the Forum Low was released and Kevin had them on feet. Home Alone became so popular, it motivated Adidas to release the Forum 84 Low Men’s x Home Alone. The collab was released in 2021 and had design features of the traps that were set for the Wet Bandits, burn marks and the films embroidered logo. The tongue had welcome mat material and really popped in contrast from the white and red. It even came with accessories and inserts. Now some sneaker heads with 4K blu-rays have said that Kev was also wearing the Adidas Phantom low in specific scenes. But there isn’t a specific reason that the character wore Adidas.
For the question, “what is your favorite sneaker in a movie?”, the easy answer is the Nike Air Mag in Back to the Future. And to be honest, it’s the right one. In 1989, Marty and Doc were “back” (yep, I said it). Fans of the first film had to wait 4 years to find out where that flying DeLorean was headed after Doc said the famous cliffhanger words “where we’re going, we don’t need roads”. The film took Marty to 2015. And the shoe that Marty put on was the infamous Air Mag. Self lacing, lights in the midsole and a color way that became a classic. The Mag was designed by Tinker Hatfield who also gave us the Jordan 3 and Air Max 1 and countless other designs. The shoe was released twice. Nike released them in 2011 (through an auction that benefitted the Michael J. Fox foundation) and in 2016. In 2016 only 89 pairs (BTTF 2 released in 1989) were raffled to benefit the Fox foundation once again. Raffle entries were $10. Michael J Fox appeared on Kimmel in a pair of self lacing Air Mags on October 21st 2015 (the same date from the movie). The Mag is a nice replacement to the Nike Bruin that Marty wore in the first Back to the Future.
It seems that super heroes and villains seem to lean into Nikes. In 1989, Michael Keaton’s Batman wore black Air Trainer 3 sneakers that costume designers modified to fit with the costume. In Batman Returns, Bruce Wayne got an upgrade to Jordan 6s that were once again modified by the costume department.
In 2002, the Green Goblin fought Spider-Man is a pair of Air Flightposite 1s. The shoes are great for the community to catch. Miles Morales wore a Jordan 1 Chicago in Into the Spider-Verse and Nike even released the Air Jordan 1 “Origin Story” that is worn in the animated film. Across the Spider-Verse also prompted Nike to release a Jordan 1 for the movie but it isn’t close to as nice as the Origin Story. In the Marvel movie Age of Ultron, Quicksilver’s shoe of choice is the Adidas Adizero Prime Boost.
But what about the shoes that weren’t chosen as a product placement or as part of an elaborate suit or costume. For that, we have to turn to Spike Lee. Long before Mars Blackmon was telling us “its gotta be the shoes” he was telling us about Nola in Spike Lee’s film She’s Gotta Have It. The film introduced us to Mars Blackmon. Mars had the best chain and belt buckle in New York and Jordan ones on his feet. Two ad agents from Nike bought tickets to the film and because of that movie and that character, a partnership was made.
In February of 1988, the first commercial with Mars and MJ hit our televisions. Sales of the Jordan shoe were actually down the year before the commercials came out and Phil Knight himself said that the ad campaign “revived the brand”. And in 1989, Spike Lee releases Do the Right Thing. We all saw Buggin Out’s Jordan 4s get scuffed and we all felt the heartache in what would become one of Spike Lee’s best films.
And of course, He Got Game. The title of a movie became the colorway of the Jordan 13. After Jake Shuttlesworth laced up the 13 “Black Toe” in the 1998 film, sneaker heads would affectionately refer to the shoe as the “He Got Game” for every retro of the white/true red-black colorway.
If you’re like me, and you wouldn’t be reading this if you weren’t, a good pair of kicks in a film can make an impression. Shoes made for movies are great. But when you catch a silhouette in a film just because that’s what the character had on, that can be great too. Everyone knows the scene with Tom Hanks as Josh Baskins playing chopsticks on the giant piano with his boss. But does everyone know that he played it in a pair of blue and white Air Force 2s?
Back in 2003, I think we all remember someone dressed up as The Bride from Kill Bill at a Halloween party. Yellow and black jacket and pants, plastic katana…but I bet they didn’t have on some Onitsuka Tiger Asics that Uma Thurman wore in the movie (and Bruce Lee wore in Game of Death 1978).
But if you like the Nike Cortez, so did Daniel LaRusso in the Karate Kid and the Wolf of Wall Street himself Jordan Belfort. But I would take LaRusso’s cool grey pair over Belfort’s white with black swoosh. And yes Forrest. Forrest loved the Cortez as well. Every Goonie wore Nikes but Data’s Sky Force Highs aka “slick shoes”… Incredible.
Sometimes the product placement is pretty obvious. And I’m here for it. Space Jam had the 11s, Space Jam 2 had the Lebron 19s and as mentioned, Forrest Gump had the Cortez. But this site is Mid90s. So we HAVE to talk about White Men Cant Jump. The 1992 movie is a time capsule to remind us how incredible the sneaker scene was in the early 90s. I’m always going to be a Nike guy, but WMCJ had them all. Even L.A. Gear!! There was so much heat on screen that the Jordan 5 and 6 are both present, but they are supporting actors to the iconic Air Command Force and Air Flight High that Billy and Sidney hoop in respectively. Both pairs have the hits of 90s neon and absolutely undeniable ankle support. We saw the Reebok Pump Omni Zone, Adidas Artillery, the Converse Pro Conquest and of course the L.A Gear Catapult.
So what is the best sneaker from a film? Is it the Mag? Did I miss one? Let me know. And as always, wear your shoes.