Mel Gibson: 5 Awesome Performances And 5 That Sucked
4. Gene Ryack - Air America (1990)
Loosely based on a true story before being Hollywoodized to within an inch of its life, Roger Spottiswoode's action comedy sees Mel Gibson paired up with Robert Downey Jr. in an empty, generic and ultimately dull tale of two pilots facing the moral dilemmas of flying contraband into Laos. The pairing of Gibson and Downey Jr. seemed an ideal recipe for generating some great buddy movie banter, but neither actor seems particularly engaged with the material, with Gibson in particular guilty of sticking rigidly to type as a cynical and slightly eccentric character that faces a major moral decision in the third act. For an actor of proven range and complexity, Gibson refuses to stray particularly far from his wheelhouse and delivers a performance greatly lacking in both conviction and charisma.
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