Air America

Eine gelungene Komödie zum Entspannen mit ernsteren Momenten, die von mir 3,5 Sterne bekommt. Die beiden perfekten Notlandungsszenen (vor allem die mit dem Flugzeug) und das Versteckspiel am Ende haben mich dazu überredet, meine Bewertung aufzurunden. Gibson und Downey sind in ihren Rollen ausgezeichnet. Spottiswoode versteht sich nicht nur mit ihnen, sondern auch mit den Flugzeugen und Hubschraubern gut… Wenn die Drehbuchautoren ein bisschen mehr Humor hinzugefügt, ein bisschen mehr die US-Kriegspolitik kritisiert und die überflüssigen Figuren ausgelassen hätten (Nancy Travis, Gibsons Familie), wären es meinerseits gleich vier Sterne geworden.__PS: Air America muss (!) man sich in der Originalfassung und ohne ein abgeschnittenes Bild anschauen. (25.09.2010)

Two movie stars, beautiful Laos landscapes, flying pigs and drugs... From a historical perspective it’s an amazing piece, if those two met in a movie today, it would be an event of the year. Downey and Gibson are solid in their roles, but their performances were nothing out of the ordinary. The entire movie has this pleasant old school feel to it, and final text explaining what happens after the end of the movie offers a little bit more than just a boring ending. A part two could easily be made right now, mapping the situation around Thai state lottery jackpot winners. (27.07.2011)

Air America is a mix of action comedy and anti-war film with parodic elements. It disappoints all those who go to see stars and wanted to watch this film as a typical action ride of Mel Gibson, because his role is rather secondary and he plays unusually moderately. It is a film that, like the vast majority of movies balancing on the edge of genres, disappoints those who wanted to see a great comedy or a great action film. From each, there is simply a piece, however, this mix actually worked for me. It is not an exceptional affair, but a few absurd scenes, several successful gags and sparkling dialogue, plus a decent dose of character acting, were enough for me to have a 75% overall impression and four stars. (19.05.2008)

Probably one of Mel Gibson's weakest films. The plot is practically nonexistent, with minimal action, and it doesn't work very well either as a war satire, I would say it's an unnecessary film. And it’s also so unremarkable in all aspects that it's not even nice to look at. The performances are mostly bad and there are very few funny scenes. The action is fairly well shot, but there isn't enough for an action movie. This film is too thematically serious for a pure comedy, it becomes a genre mutant that is best to avoid. Roger Spottiswoode can do much better. (07.05.2006)