There is a certain amount of irony when you watch "Air America" as it stars Robert Downey Jr., an actor who to be frank has had his issues with drugs, playing a pilot intent on destroying the drugs trade in Laos. You can't but help laugh at this ironic twist of fate, which to be frank is about the only thing you will laugh at when it comes to "Air America" a movie which tries to be half comedy, half political or should that be half dramatic. Simply it's confused to what it is trying to be and as such never fires on all cylinders despite pairing up Downey Jr. with the wise cracking Mel Gibson.

Having had his pilots licence suspended whilst flying dangerously in LA, Billy Covington (Robert Downey Jr. - Weird Science) is recruited to join a secret air force team in Laos whose motto is "Anything. Anywhere. Anytime". With a bunch of borderline psychotic pilots including the ultra cool Gene Ryack (Mel Gibson - Bird on a Wire), Billy finds himself in the thick of things as he is shot at whilst dropping off supplies to those in the villages. But when he discovers he is not only helping the local Generals drugs operation but is going to be set up by is duplicitous commander he goes to war on the drugs trade.

The concept of a secretive governmental air force doing dodgy dealings for their bosses in Laos whilst also lining their own pockets is not a bad idea, nor in theory is the pairing of Mel Gibson and Robert Downey Jr., shame that neither of them works. The storyline ends up struggling as it never seems to be going anywhere, even when Downey's character Billy decides to destroy the local drugs factory run by General Lu Soong it doesn't become anymore interesting. It tries hard to give it all some meaning, with Gibson's character, Gene Ryack, sort of having an epiphany when he decides to drop his scams to help out but it is still far from interesting.

The same can be said of the partnership of Mel Gibson and Robert Downey Jr. Here you have two great comic talents, brilliant at delivering wit and sarcasm in equal measure, both are more than capable of playing the comedy psychotics, those guys just on the border of being insane, yet it doesn't work. Mel Gibson delivers those wise cracking moments we have become accustomed to as does Robert Downey Jr. who is playing a slightly naive pilot, but then there is no chemistry between them, no rapid banter which flows naturally. It's disappointing with Mel Gibson almost coming across like he had not interest in the movie with Robert Downey Jr. trying to impress but then failing.

What does that leave, well not a lot to be honest. There is the side of the story about a senator snooping around looking for proof of dodgy dealings and the commander of the secret air force base who is busy trying to protect his own backside in all the drug trouble, but it's boring. There is pretty much nothing which really makes "Air America" interesting, there is no major drama, comedy often fails and well it does become a struggle to watch.

But on a small positive some of the flying stunts, and there are plenty of them, are pretty spectacular. In a movie which almost floats these moments of aeronautic acrobats give an injection of adrenalin although by no means enough to save it.

What this all boils down to is that "Air America" is a pretty disappointing movie. The pairing up of Mel Gibson and Robert Downey Jr. should set the screen alight with quick fire banter which makes you laugh except it ends up being a damp squib. It's certainly not helped by a very thin storyline which lacks drive and impetuous to the point that it becomes boring, barely salvaged by the climax and the occasional injection of action.