Plot.
Poster of Air America

Air America

1990 · Film · 112 min

  • Action
  • Adventure
  • Comedy
  • Drama

Plot

Air America was the CIA's private airline operating in Laos during the Vietnam War, running anything and everything from soldiers to foodstuffs for local villagers. After losing his pilot's license, Billy Covington is recruited, and ends up in the middle of a bunch of lunatic pilots, gun-running by his friend Gene Ryack, and opium smuggling by his own superiors.

About Air America

Air America is a 1990 American action comedy film directed by Roger Spottiswoode and starring Mel Gibson and Robert Downey Jr. as Air America pilots flying missions in Laos during the Vietnam War. When the protagonists discover their aircraft is being used by CIA agents to smuggle heroin, they must avoid being framed as the drug-smugglers. The plot of the film is adapted from Christopher Robbins' 1979 non-fiction book, chronicling the CIA-financed airline to transport weapons and supplies in Cambodia, Laos and South Vietnam during the Vietnam War. The publicity for the film, advertised as a lighthearted buddy movie, implied a tone that differs greatly from the actual film, which includes such serious themes as an anti-war message, focus on the opium trade, and a negative portrayal of Royal Laotian General Vang Pao (played by actor Burt Kwouk as "General Lu Soong").

From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Cast

  • Mel GibsonGene Ryack
  • Robert Downey Jr.Billy Covington
  • Nancy TravisCorinne Landreaux
  • Ken JenkinsMajor Donald Lemond
  • David Marshall GrantRob Diehl
  • Lane SmithSenator Davenport
  • Art LaFleurJack Neely
  • Ned EisenbergPirelli
Images