Cheesy, Politically charged, Action comedy movie are not adjectives you would expect to describe one film but these are all descriptions I thought of whilst watching Air America. Released in 1990 this Vietnam War movie featuring Mel Gibson and Robert Downey Jr does encapsulate all of the above but whether all these elements are effectively pulled together is another thing. It's fair to say that, when a Hollywood production is based on the Vietnam War one thing you can normally rely on is the soundtrack, with so many politically charged classic songs it's hard to mess it up.
Gene's (Gibson) introduction is meant to be an emotionally charged political insight into the meaningless war that ultimately was riddled with corruption and secrecy, but it comes across as a naïve and obvious dig that is just contrived. In contrast we have the comedic introduction of Billy (Robert Downey Jr) as a traffic eye in the sky pilot who has a conflict with a rubbernecking lorry driver. Clearly both characters were set to be developed as political idealists at different stages of emotional evolvement, but to sound like a stuck record it comes across as contrived and obvious.
Gene's (Gibson) introduction is meant to be an emotionally charged political insight into the meaningless war that ultimately was riddled with corruption and secrecy, but it comes across as a naïve and obvious dig that is just contrived. In contrast, we have the comedic introduction of Billy (Robert Downey Jr) as a traffic eye in the sky pilot who has a conflict with a rubbernecking lorry driver. Clearly both characters were set to be developed as political idealists at different stages of emotional evolvement, but to sound like a stuck record it comes across as contrived and obvious.
So with the introduction of the characters and the advisement the film is set in 1969 Laos, centering on a private freight airline 'Air America', running top secret military missions because there is no war in Laos. It quickly becomes obvious it is a political stab at the futility of war and more pointedly the American involvement in Vietnam. We are shown the corruption, the American involvement in the opium trade, arms trading and a scenario where the freight being transported is more important than the pilots.
'Illegal missions, in illegal planes conducting illegal activities' - Gene (Mel Gibson)
The constant digs and political insights are hammed in at any given point wearing thin very quickly with a script that doesn't manage to deliver this very interesting story effectively. So many lines come across as a lecture rather than an insight, with the cast doing their best to deliver such a poorly written script. Gene (Gibson) has been spending his time with Air America amassing a large arms collection that will become his retirement nest egg, but of course this wouldn't be an 80's film without the predictable sacrifice of said nest egg for the greater humanitarian good.
'How come you're so relaxed man, maybe you don't get this, when you die that's it, it's over, end of story, blackness' - Billy (Robert Downey Jr)
Now one thing I have to go back to is the soundtrack and the score. As I said at the beginning of this review you should normally be able to strike gold with an authentic 60's song list, but they managed to break the mould with this film and not in a good way. The mix between 60's songs and a cheesy 80's score just cuts through any authenticity the film had left. If it was a classic timeless score then it would have been perfect, but no, it is way too cheesy and does not fit the era we are being asked to invest in. This mixed with Downing Jr's 80's blow dried mullet is the final nail in the coffin of authenticity. The worst of this is what appears to be the soundtrack song that had the aim of hooking any prospective audience in is an 80's duet of a song first written and released 4 years after the film is set.
So yeah, I can see I have pretty much ripped this film apart and portrayed it as a terrible politically charged cheese fest. I'm not going to lie, this review has been difficult to write and I can't put my finger on why. What I will say though, prior to this viewing is that I had always remembered enjoying the film, I remember it being funny and very entertaining and all of that is true to a certain extent. Overall it is a good film and I am sure many of you will enjoy it as much as I did the first time I saw it, but watching it in the process of this journey and as a slightly more mature adult I can't help but see its flaws, nor can I ignore them.
Farquaads Score - 3 star or 5/10
IMDB - 5.8/10 (25,546)
Metascore - 33 (13 Critic Reviews)
Comments