Air America

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.

I regard this as a classic war movie! It's fun, good acting, more fun, and factually correct, well up to a point of course! What I like about it, and what I feel makes it original, is that not many films were made about Laos, and also its a cheerful take on war, pretty original for that too I'd say. A good movie i could watch again and again. Excellent music too! 5/5 stars.

To what extent the different parties were involved in opium smuggling, black market guns, clandestine military operations or anything else in Laos during the Vietnam War, the public likely will never know. Or, at least, we won't know which stories to believe. The bottom line then is that one can't trust any of the claims or defenses. But, the facts about who was there and their purposes are clear, public record, and not refuted. The Internet has sources readily available about Air America. It actually started as far back as 1950. That was in the Truman Administration, so the reviewer who criticized this movie for its implication that Richard Nixon was behind it and tried to cover it up was correct in his assessment. All administrations tried to keep a lid on U.S. activities in Southeast Asia outside of Vietnam. Of course, the information and activities would eventually become known and details made available. Again, Web sites on Air America provide lots of information, some quite fascinating. .

That's enough about the background of the subject of this film. The movie itself is based on a book by Christopher Robbins. The characters are fictitious. But, the presence of the civilian pilots that flew a variety of aircraft for Air America was a fact. They did many things, as this movie shows. They flew food and made drops at remote villages. They helped the native Laotian forces against North Vietnamese incursions into their country. They did other clandestine operations ordered by the Air Force or CIA. And, they flew rescue missions for downed American pilots. The movie doesn't show this latter, but it was a very real function for the Air America pilots in Laos.

This movie is billed as an action comedy, and it does have some comedy. It's mostly light stuff, or situational scenes. It isn't laced with witty dialog. The humor serves to reduce some of the anxiety and tension there was in real life, and that we might otherwise feel in watching the film. On the other hand, this film has a great deal of action. It's loaded with good scenery shots and some fantastic scenes of flying. The plot is OK, but not particularly strong. The cast are all very good. So, the thin plot and direction and editing aside, "Air America" is a good film of action that shows a variety of aircraft. And, it does one other thing. It gives us a picture of a real event and time in history that otherwise we would not have. So, it has some added historical value as well.

The movie pokes fun at the CIA, the Air Force supervisors, and the Laotian general whose troops were the main buffer against the North Vietnamese entering Laos. The Laotians also were in the drug business. And, it shows a little of the U.S. AID operations to help refugees and the poor people of remote areas. All of that is find and good – it helps make the movie more interesting and entertaining. Unless someone has no interest in any of these things, cares nothing about aviation or flying, and wants to know nothing about that period of history, I can't imagine one rating this film fewer than five stars. I give it five just for those things, and two more for the acting, light comedy and entertainment.

... because, whilst it doesn't have anything overly outstanding about it, it manages to be very entertaining. Perhaps it's just because the pairing of Gibson and Downey, Jr. appeals to me. Whatever it is, I found the setup interesting, the comedy funny and the action nicely staged.

I'm tempted to say that its lukewarm reception was down to poor marketing, but I'm not sure that's true. Maybe I just have to accept that I quite like a movie that the majority think is bad.

I don't know what it is with Gibson and 'non-Lethal-Weapon' action comedies, but "Bird on a Wire" seems to be regarded as another commercial failure, and I enjoyed that one too. Time to take me off to the funny farm... ?

Air America is a fun, entertaining film in my opinion. I've read a few user reviews and have noticed people who don't enjoy this movie seem to want to label it to a certain genre.

I think you just have to sit back and enjoy it for what it is. There are some good one liners along with some great action. The overall story is solid but nothing spectacular. I grew up with this film and probably watched it 4 times before i fully understood the whole war/heroin corruption storyline. I wouldn't go into this movie thinking you're going to get an Apocalypse Now masterpiece, it's just a light hearted war flick.