After having some moderate success on a low budget kids soap opera, "Swan's Crossing," (which has developed a cult following thanks to the participation of actress Sarah Michelle Gellar), actor Shane McDermott starred in this minor, but intensely watchable sports-themed movie, mostly involving in-line skating, but also some hockey and skateboarding and surfing as well. "Airborne is a very 'physical' movie, that required the actors and countless extras to perform their own reckless stunts on camera. The action set piece, which makes up for the entire last third of the film, is really an exciting adrenaline rush. The camera work is quite amazing, putting the viewer right inside the high speed race down "The Devil's Backbone," a dangerously curvy downhill road that the skaters must share with car traffic, as they try and shove each other off the road and into rocks. I was especially impressed to see McDermott doing all his own stunt work. That is clearly not a double, and he is a very skilled skater.
But this movie has more going for it than action. The photography is gorgeous with it's exotic angles and selection of a super bright color scheme that makes every scene look like it was filmed through stained glass windows. Even Cincinnati looks beautiful! Those surfing scenes look amazing in their blue splendor, especially on the big screen. Big names like Seth Green and Jack Black got their starts here. Seth is quite unforgettable as Wiley. We even get some romance that is very sweet, and some of the comedy is downright brilliant. Add in the music of Stewart Copeland and you have a 90's classic. I hadn't seen this since the 90's and re-watched it recently, worried that it might not be as good as I remembered. You know what? It's better, and it's proof that movies they are making today are just not as good as what they were producing back then. It's like movies had a soul, and a kind of innocence, that is blatantly absent from movies being churned out today. As family entertainment, I cannot recommend "Airborne" highly enough.
