Air America (1990) (Steelbook) [4K Ultra HD]

Director: Roger Spottiswoode

Cast: Mel Gibson, Robert Downey Jr., Nancy Travis

Release Date: June 10, 2025

A Review By: Kevin Lovell

Disc Rating: 7.5/10

Synopsis:

When Billy Covington (Robert Downey, Jr.) accepts a job to fly planes in Laos, he expects to join a crew of civilian pilots flying in peaceful air zones. What he gets is Air America, a ragtag group of renegades dodging gunfire to run secret – and shady – missions for the CIA. As danger grows and the line between enemies and allies blurs, Billy turns to a wild and grizzled pilot named Gene Ryack (Mel Gibson). Together, Billy and Gene take a stand against the chaos and become something no one ever believed they could be: heroes.

‘Air America’ follows a young, thrill-seeking pilot who after a dangerous public stunt is recruited to join a team of pilots in Laos. Initially unsure of just what to expect, the young pilot soon finds himself in one wild and deadly situation after another as he becomes the latest pilot to join Air America, a CIA run company involved in some dangerous and often illegal flyover drops to war torn areas where their arrival is often greeted with gunfire aplenty. As the new guy becomes familiar with the more seasoned members of the team and the everyday chaos they face, he must try to find some way to truly make a difference amid the shady deals and violence he’s been thrust into.

‘Air America’ is directed by Roger Spottiswoode from a screenplay written by John Eskow and Richard Rush which was based on the book by Christopher Robbins, and Spottiswoode does a capable job guiding the action, fun and tension along throughout. The film also features a quite decent cast which includes Mel Gibson, Robert Downey Jr., Nancy Travis, Ken Jenkins, David Marshall Grant, Lane Smith, and more, with each offering generally solid performances in their roles for the most part.

‘Air America’ was first released theatrically in the summer of 1990 and was met with mixed reviews, perhaps due to the unexpected serious nature that much of the film tackles (there’s in fact a Featurette included that discusses its reputation and struggles upon release) yet if you don’t go in expecting utter perfection then it’s actually a very enjoyable and engaging ride, and one that I actually had never had the pleasure of prior to checking it out for this review. It delivers a fun, funny and at times notably tense and thought provoking adventure as these pilots are forced to risk their lives every day, while often becoming involved in one shady trade or gimmick after another which often leads to uneasy results.

The pairing of lead actors Mel Gibson and Robert Downey Jr. works pretty well in its own right and their easy banter and chemistry certainly helps us to care about these individuals at least to some degree, especially when things start to become increasingly dire. If like me you’ve never had the chance to check out ‘Air America’ and are a fan of either or both leads then I would certainly encourage doing so whenever you have the opportunity, but it’s probably not something you necessarily need to push to the top of your priority list.

The early 1990’s action-comedy ‘Air America’ flies onto 4K Ultra HD in the states for the first time ever courtesy of Lionsgate Home Entertainment as a new Amazon exclusive Steelbook release which also includes a Blu-ray copy of the film (which does appear to be a recycled disc from Amazon’s older BD) and a Digital Code, all packed inside a nicely crafted and smooth Steelbook case with a clear slipcover that offers slight changes in the art when in place or removed. The 4K disc features a full Ultra High Definition presentation with Dolby Vision and HDR-10 for the film itself which looks very good as a whole and is only further complemented by a 7.1 DTS-HD MA soundtrack (which was also included on the original BD) and a nice handful of extras that fans of the movie should enjoy. If you happen to be a fan of ‘Air America’ and have been hoping to see it arrive on the UHD format, then this 4K Steelbook from Amazon should do the trick and is recommended for anyone already considering a purchase.

VIDEO:

The 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray Steelbook release of ‘Air America’ features a full 2160p Ultra High Definition video presentation with Dolby Vision and HDR-10 presented in its original 2.35:1 Aspect Ratio. The video presentation looks pretty great altogether and it provides a sharp, clean and richly detailed presentation from start to finish that never suffers from any unexpected troubles along the way. Detail is sharp on characters, planes and surroundings along with just about everything else, while the Dolby Vision HDR enhances many of the colors throughout and is further complemented by deep, clean and capable black levels. Overall, this is a solid Ultra High Definition video presentation that holds up nicely at every turn and should excite fans of the 1990 action comedy.

AUDIO:

The 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray release features a 7.1 channel DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack. This multichannel soundtrack delivers a clean, crisp and often notably immersive audio presentation throughout. It takes advantage of all seven available channels in order to send aircraft, bullets, debris, explosions and plenty more consistently zipping throughout the various speakers at every fitting opportunity, while never negatively affecting any dialogue or other audio elements that might be occurring simultaneously. Overall, this is a pretty nice and capable 7.1 DTS-HD MA soundtrack that repeatedly contributes to the fun and tension throughout and shouldn’t disappoint.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

The 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray Steelbook release of ‘Air America’ features a decent helping of bonus content including many previously released extras. Included on the release is an ‘Audio Commentary with Screenwriter John Eskow’, in addition to a collection of Featurettes including ‘Return Flight: Revisiting Air America’ (running approximately 22 minutes in length), ‘Short Interviews with Cast and Crew’ (running approximately 2 minutes), ‘Pre-Flight: The Storyboards of Air America’ (approximately 5 minutes), ‘Flight Log’ (4 minutes) and a ‘Making of Featurette’ (5 minutes). Also included is the film’s ‘Theatrical Trailer’ (1 minute) and the ‘2024 Trailer’ (1 minute).

*Please note that the above images are taken from the Blu-Ray disc included in the 4K UHD Combo Pack and resized. They do not represent the quality of the 4K Ultra HD disc itself and will additionally suffer quality loss as a result of .jpg compression. Larger versions of each image can be viewed by clicking on the image. All images and content included on the 4K UHD & Blu-Ray release are the property of their respective owners.

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Disc Rating: 7.5/10

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‘Air America’ is Now Available to Own in a 4K Ultra HD Steelbook Available Exclusively at Amazon from Studiocanal – Lionsgate

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You can purchase ‘Air America’ on 4K UHD Steelbook at Amazon HERE!

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