Artivels Undescribable Perfection

Cleveronix A different way of telling a story

TaryBiggBall It was OK. I don't see why everyone loves it so much. It wasn't very smart or deep or well-directed.

Brendon Jones It’s fine. It's literally the definition of a fine movie. You’ve seen it before, you know every beat and outcome before the characters even do. Only question is how much escapism you’re looking for.

skeptic skeptical Air America has a pretty interesting soundtrack of period music (during the Vietnam war era), which will keep most viewers watching. I hasten to add that the final Fred Astaire track really comes out of nowhere.I wanted to like this movie. It treats the CIA's drug and gun-running in Laos during the vexed Vietnam conflict. President Nixon is shown on television insisting that there are no combat troops in Laos ("No boots on the ground!" Sound familiar?). The plot focuses on the role played by the CIA in supporting the production of heroin in exchange for cooperation of the Laotian military. Some attention is given to the nature of covert activities and the types of people (losers and mercenaries) who sign up for such missions.The primary problem is that there is a real cacophony of tones and messages. Air America tries to be smart, but it comes off as rather lame. Not really incisive enough to count as a serious critique of the war or US policy, nor really funny enough to constitute comedy. Mel Gibson and Robert Downey Jr. are both pretty mediocre in this production, and they are the best of the cast, which abounds in stereotypical caricatures of the usual suspects: CIA agents, senators, prostitutes, Asian military figures, among others.It would be great for people to learn about the involvement of the Caustic Incompetence Agency in the drug trade during the US military engagement in Vietnam--especially since many veterans came home addicted to heroin and ended up social outcasts. But it would probably be better to read some books than to watch this middling effort.

slightlymad22 Continuing my plan to watch every Mel Gibson movie in order, I come to his second movie of 1990 Air America. Plot In A Paragraph: Air America was the CIA's private airline operating in Laos during the Vietnam War. After losing his pilot's license, Billy (Robert Downey Jr) is recruited into it, and ends up in the middle of a bunch of lunatic pilots, gun-running by his friend Gene (Gibson) and opium smuggling by his own superiors.On the back of Lethal Weapon 2 and Bird On A Wire, Gibson was on a roll, but he didn't quiet make it three in a row. I'm tempted to say that its poor gross was down to poor marketing, but I'm not sure that's entirely accurate, but the trailer and poster of a grinning Gibson and Downey Jr make it look like more of a comedy that it actually is. The subject matter is serious with a few funny scenes and clever lines. Although the subject matter is serious, the film is best as pure entertainment. I can probably sIf you've not seen it, I say give it a go. It seems to have slipped through so many peoples viewing when it was released and had pretty much been forgotten about. I can see me watching it again in the next 10 years, or if I catch it on TV. Air America grossed $31 million to end the year the 37th highest grossing movie of 1990.

Arlis Fuson This very boring movie is about a wild man who works as a helicopter pilot for a radio station and his crazy antics get him fired. It's 1969 and a war is going on in Vietnam and Nixon swears nothing is happening in the neighboring country of Laos, yet there is a secret 'no action' mission happening there and they are constantly losing pilots so the young radio station pilot is recruited. He gets there to find guys even crazier than he is and finds the missions aren't exactly safe either. Soon an American senator flies over because he hears rumors of drug trafficking. This new rookie pilot finds this to be true and finds most of the pilots are into illegal things, he isn't going to stand for it, but he's right in the middle and must find away to stop these illegal activities and get home safe.This movie is so boring. I don't know what genre it was. I think it was promoted as a comedy, but there's not one laugh this whole film. There isn't any action so it can't be a war film, so I guess it is pure drama..it was pure boring I know that. The movie just went on and on and on with guys flying planes and stupid dialog and nothing emotional or heartfelt or serious, I kept asking myself what the point to this film was..it was horrible.Direction was so bad, editing was even worse. Actors were okay like Mel Gibson, Robert Downey, Jr., Lane Smith, Art LaFleur, Tim Thimerson and Michael Dudikoff in a small unnoticeable part. The writers must have been stoned or asleep when they wrote this. The score was horrible and whoever supervised the soundtrack was crazy too. This movie had some great Rock N' Roll classics from CCR, The Stones, Edgar Winter and a few other and had tons of covers including some horrible version of a Dr. John classic and Aerosmith doing a cover of the Doors "Love Me Two Times' which was out of place for this movie set in 69. The worst thing was some of the songs weren't even out yet, A horrible cover of The Hollies "Long Cool Woman" can be heard at one time and that song didn't come out until the early 70's I hate flaws like that. Also the shirts Robert Downy Jr wore of Zeppelin and Hendrix, those types of shirts weren't made until the mid-70's, and the Hendrix one I know wasn't made until around 85. I hate flaws like that in film.This movie sucks, avoid it, it's boring has no point. 2/10 stars

rzajac Yeah, it's an "action flick"--lots of explosions, tough-guy posturing, bombast--but it also has depth.If you like good writing, good scenario work, fine acting (including "minor" roles), and realpolitik, you could spend a far worse 90-odd minutes of an evening.And seeing it reminds me of an amazing fact: Behind the macho action swagger of Gibson beats the heart of a truly great actor. And, I guess, the same has to be said for Downey; I watched this, in part, as a sort of "catch up" on his career after seeing Kiss Kiss Bang Bang. Nice to see him in his nubile years, and realize that he has accomplished more *with* his personal issues in tow than some of us accomplish while living within conventional bounds of correctness.And... Why does Downey always get these parts where he's the voice of down-home morality in a sea of squalor? Anyway: Check it out.