Air America – Movie Review
Director: Roger Spottiswoode
Writer: John Eskow, Richard Rush (Screenplay)
Writer: Christopher Robbins (Book)
Cast
- Mel Gibson (Braveheart)
- Robert Downey Jr (Avengers Endgame)
- Nancy Travis (The Vanishing)
- Ken Jenkins (The Sum of All Fears)
- David Marshall Grant (The Devil Wears Prada)
Plot: A young pilot finds himself recruited unwittingly into a covert and corrupt CIA airlift operation in Laos during the Vietnam conflict.
Runtime: 1 Hour 53 Minutes
There may be spoilers in the rest of the review
Story: Air America starts when a young pilot Billy (Downey Jr) loses his license in America. He gets recruited to Laos to work for a secret air support group. Billy gets partnered with Gene (Gibson) to learn the ropes, as he learns about the operation, he has become part of.
As Billy gets used to his new surroundings, he learns about the questionable activities being done by his fellow pilots. This leads to him needing to make a big decision about his future, as the role becomes more dangerous as the Vietnam war starts to become a bigger problem for the pilot.
Verdict on Air America
Air America is an action comedy following a group of rogue pilots in Vietnam that use the cover of helping the locals to run an illegal CIA operation. It sees a rookie pilot of the area learning about the operation, as the rest of the crew try to keep it secret from a visiting senator.
This is a movie that gets to explore another story in the Vietnam war. Showing how Americans would have used their methods to profit off an invasion they created. However, this is told in a light-hearted manner to help make us support Gene and Billy. The performances from Gibson and Downey Jr are good throughout the film, as are most of the cast.
Final Thoughts – Air America is an entertaining action comedy.
