A full size electric oven, even a convection oven is heating up a lot of airspace. They need to preheat to heat up that air inside which is then lost when you open the door to put your food in but overall it is heating the inside surfaces and rack in order to transfer that heat into your food.
An air fryer is just a very small and efficient convection oven that heats up a very small space very quickly usually not needing preheating even.
Is it frying? no it isn't cooked in a pan/deep fat fryer and the food usually only uses the oil within or sprayed on the food.
It was good and I'd love to watch that movie again but it was too real. The only problem with our reality is that the people who would find the problems like in that movie have probably already been laid off.