adidas
Flicks with Kicks: Six more films with iconic sneaker cameos
In case you’d already burned through last week’s list of movies featuring cool kicks, we’re back with round 2!
Title: Aliens (1986)
Stream on: HBO Now, Amazon Prime ($)
Sneakers: Reebok Alien Stomper
In space, no one can hear you scream. This goes double, or quadruple, for Sigourney Weaver’s tireless character Ellen Ripley, who did battle over and over again with some of the most terrifying xenomorphs to ever grace the silver screen. In the final battle scene of the second instalment, Ripley shakes off the queen alien grabbing onto her Reebok sneaker, sending it plunging into space. Reebok has twice released the Alien Stomper, once in 2016 to celebrate “Alien Day” in Power-Loader and Queen Alien colorways, and again in 2019 to mark the 40th anniversary of the first film in an OG design.
Title: Robin Hood: Men In Tights (1993)
Stream on: Amazon Prime ($)
Sneakers: Reebok Pump
One of my personal favorites (on this list and of all-time) happens to be Dave Chappelle’s first ever film role. He plays Ahchoo, who joins Robin Hood’s merry band of misfits. In his first encounter with Robin of Loxley, the pair encounter the Sheriff of Rottingham’s goons and square up for a fight. But first, Ahchoo calls a time-out…to make sure his Reebok Pumps are sufficiently pumped up. Classic.
Title: Forrest Gump (1994)
Stream on: Hulu, Amazon Prime ($), Apple TV ($)
Sneakers: Nike Cortez OG
And now a movie that pretty much everyone on Earth has seen, or at least quoted. In probably the best product placement moment of all time, Tom Hanks unboxes a pair of Nike’s original track shoe, the Cortez, and literally ran down his driveway and across America. That all-white leather upper with the bold red Swoosh and a sliver of royal blue on the midsole is just unmistakable.
Title: Like Mike (2002)
Stream on: Apple TV ($), Amazon Prime ($)
Sneakers: Nike Blazer Mid
Like Mike, as you’ve probably guessed if you haven’t seen it, is a basketball movie. It stars Shad Moss, better known as Lil Bow Wow, as an orphan who gets struck by lightning while wearing a pair of old Nike Blazers with the letters “MJ” written inside them. This naturally gives him superhuman basketball skills, and after he dunks on Tracy McGrady during a halftime contest, he gets an NBA contract. If only it were that easy. Fun fact: The movie was written by two guys whose first names were Michael and Jordan.
Title: 6 Underground (2020)
Stream on: Netflix
Sneakers: adidas Speedfactory AM4
This is the newest flick on the list, and the sneaker cameo is pretty brief, but the trained eye will spot it. The Michael Bay-directed Netflix original sees Ryan Reynolds leading a team of international vigilantes to, well, blow stuff up and stop the bad guy. It’s pretty easy to follow. In one of the opening scenes, the parkour expert on Reynolds’ team runs down the roof of a building in Florence, Italy, rocking a pair of Speedfactory AM4. If they’re good enough for action movies, they’re good enough for me.
Title: George of the Jungle (1997)
Stream on: Hulu, Amazon Prime ($), Apple TV ($)
Sneakers: Nike Air More Uptempo
This late-90s comedy starred Brendan Fraser at the peak of his powers and looking like he was carved out of marble. As the titular George, the king of the jungle, Fraser saves an American woman from a lion and eventually is brought back to San Francisco. Approaching the climax of the movie, George returns to Africa in a UPS shipping crate and emerges only to lace up a pair of black Nike Air More Uptempo and take off running. Not sure how well-suited basketball shoes are to running across the savannah, but hey, I’m not the king of the jungle.