To be honest with you, the main reason I like this film is that parts of it were filmed in Mae Hong Son, Thailand, a Thai town in far northern Thailand where I have spent some time. But it's a fun film if you don't take it too seriously.What I find ironic about this film is that its 2 key stars -- Mel Gibson and Robert Downey -- both later fell from grace. Downey made his comeback. It's not clear if Gibson ever really will. Another irony is that Downey crusades against drugs in the film at the very time he was heavily involved in drugs. Ah well.Yes, these were the days when Mel Gibson was relatively young, handsome, and respected. He's good here, although this is not a particularly strong role. It's just a variation on a buddy pic.This was made right after my favorite Robert Downey film -- "Chances Are". He's good here, but he's been better.It was interesting to see Nancy Travis here, whom we later got to know from "Last Man Standing" on television. And Ken Jenkins, whom we later got to know as a character in "Scrubs". And I've always enjoyed character actor, the late Lane Smith. They all do pretty well here.I don't find a lot to complain about in this film. Nor do I find a lot to applaud. I don't think this film is as far from the truth as some of our reviewers do. The drug lord here is clearly based on the infamous Khun Sa (the actor who plays the drug lord here even resembles Khun Sa).A bit of fun with a sort of buddy picture. That's what you have here.

An amalgamation between drama, comedy and war film - it's not a very convincing mix. What a mess the whole thing is. It's not comedy, action, or drama, yet it likes to think it has elements of all of them. Roger Spottiswoode is not exactly a bad director (remember "Under fire" ? ) but this is not one of his finest movies.The acting is pretty good. Mel Gibson ("Lethal weapon") doesn't fail and the same can be said for Robert Downey Jr. ("Iron man") . Gibson and Downey have a nice chemistry , maybe not tat great as Gibson and Glover in "LW" , but still nice. The rest of the cast is not bad too. There is even Michael Dudikoff ("American ninja") in small unnoticeable role.There is little action here and it's rather goofy. There is no really emotional or serious moment here I could REALLY relate to. This movie has some great Rock N' Roll classics from CCR, The Stones, Edgar Winter and a few others. There is some humor here , but most of it are light stuff , nothing particularly memorable . Oh , maybe except "Take big bag to blue car." That was hilarious.This movie has a really poor script. It doesn't know if it wants to be serious or funny , if it wants to be action movie , comedy or war drama. It tries to be all of that and fails at every level. It won't satisfy action fans , comedy fans or fans or serious movies. It does have some entertaining moments , it's far from terrible , but it's just one big and somewhat entertaining forgettable mess. I give it 4/10.

Air America has a pretty interesting soundtrack of period music (during the Vietnam war era), which will keep most viewers watching. I hasten to add that the final Fred Astaire track really comes out of nowhere.I wanted to like this movie. It treats the CIA's drug and gun-running in Laos during the vexed Vietnam conflict. President Nixon is shown on television insisting that there are no combat troops in Laos ("No boots on the ground!" Sound familiar?). The plot focuses on the role played by the CIA in supporting the production of heroin in exchange for cooperation of the Laotian military. Some attention is given to the nature of covert activities and the types of people (losers and mercenaries) who sign up for such missions.The primary problem is that there is a real cacophony of tones and messages. Air America tries to be smart, but it comes off as rather lame. Not really incisive enough to count as a serious critique of the war or US policy, nor really funny enough to constitute comedy. Mel Gibson and Robert Downey Jr. are both pretty mediocre in this production, and they are the best of the cast, which abounds in stereotypical caricatures of the usual suspects: CIA agents, senators, prostitutes, Asian military figures, among others.It would be great for people to learn about the involvement of the Caustic Incompetence Agency in the drug trade during the US military engagement in Vietnam--especially since many veterans came home addicted to heroin and ended up social outcasts. But it would probably be better to read some books than to watch this middling effort.

Despite his controversial and diminishing status in Hollywood, I'm still a big Mel Gibson fan as an actor. I also like Robert Downey Jr. I've heard how mediocre this movie is over the years from people, and put it off. Well. I can now say I've finally watched it. I now know why I put it off for so long. Gibson & Downey lack efficient chemistry with one another. It doesn't have much action to speak of, and the comedy lacks a big ingredient...laughs!. Air America's two major problems are. 1. It doesn't know what it fully wants to be, and fails to find the proper medium. Instead we get an uneasy mixture of laughs & serious action, which doesn't work at all. 2. The lagging pace issues. There was a few times where I looked at the time, to see how much was left. Mel Gibson seems to be on autopilot sometimes. Others he looks really into it. He has charm and swagger to spare, but it's not his best performance. Robert Downey gives one of his worst performances to date. He wasn't convincing at all, that cocky charisma of his nowhere to be found, here. Nancy Travis doesn't have much screen time, and her character is poorly written. Art LaFleur is actually amusing with his phony tough guy act. Final Thoughts: Talk about a major misfire. It fails an action/adventure, a comedy, and a drama. It has no idea what it fully wants to be, and the result is a mess. You could do worse, but you could also do much better. There is nothing to gain from seeing this movie4.7/10