Air America (1990)

User Rating:

5.3/10   

Director:

Roger Spottiswoode

Writers (WGA):

Christopher Robbins (book)
John Eskow (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

10 August 1990 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Comedy

Tagline:

The Few. The Proud. The Totally Insane.

Plot:

A young pilot finds himself recruited into a covert and corrupt CIA airlift organization operating in Vietnam War Era Laos.

Plot Keywords:

Pilot | CIA | Vietnam | Laos | Helicopter

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Mel Gibson	...	Gene Ryack
Robert Downey Jr.	...	Billy Covington
Nancy Travis	...	Corinne Landreaux
Ken Jenkins	...	Major Donald Lemond
David Marshall Grant	...	Rob Diehl
Lane Smith	...	Senator Davenport
Art LaFleur	...	Jack Neely (as Art La Fleur)
Ned Eisenberg	...	Nick Pirelli
Marshall Bell	...	Q.V.
David Bowe	...	Saunders
Burt Kwouk	...	General Lu Soong
Tim Thomerson	...	Babo
Harvey Jason	...	Nino
Sinjai Plengpanit	...	May Ling (as Sinjai Hongthai)
Natta Nantatanti	...	Gene's Daughter

Runtime:

112 min | Argentina:115 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Lao

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints) | Dolby SR (35 mm prints)

Certification:

Norway:10 | Finland:K-11 (re-rating) | Portugal:M/12 | USA:R (Certificate #30290) | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Finland:K-10 | Germany:12 | Iceland:L | Netherlands:AL | Norway:11 | Singapore:PG | Sweden:11 | UK:15

Filming Locations:

Chaing Mai Airport, Thailand

Company:

Carolco Pictures

Trivia:

The "golden bb" that Jack Neely talks about is a slang term referring to a single rifle shot that is so well-placed it can bring down a plane or other aircraft. The term is demonstrated in the opening of the film.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Gene arrives to pick Billy up the morning after their 'bender', Gene can be seen flying form the left hand seat of the Jet ranger (would normally be operated from the right hand seat if flying solo anyway) but when they land on at the airfield, Gene can be seen exiting the helicopter from the right hand seat.

Quotes:

Gene Ryack: I've seen things here that I could never possibly have imagined, and I've got a pretty broad imagination.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Mystery Science Theater 3000: Radar Secret Service (#6.20)" (1993)

Soundtrack:

Love Me Two Times

Cookie cutter Mel Gibson action/comedy.

It's like Lethal Weapon without Danny Glover. More comedic focus than the Lethal Weapons with less action, though there is still enough action to call it an action movie. Movie focuses on a Vietnam alliance with questionable military officials who are involved in opium smuggling, but never gets terribly deep into any of the real geopolitical issues of the war, choosing instead to paint everyone involved with the war in the same stereotypical light of corruption.