Airborne (1993)

I was watching this movie on TV one day, and about a hour into it I thought "Isn't the NSYNC concert on TV now, I'd rather watch that." But then, something happened, the third act came around and I was spellbound. The main plot showed a bunch of teens who like to play hockey and roller skate, but for the first 2 acts, this plot just coasts the movie along and makes it, suck. But in the third act, we see a bunch of teens in a race throughout Cinncinatti, and I was amazed. Not only the skating, but how it overshadowed the rest of the film. B-

Fmovies: Hey Huffman, if you recognize the streets and the skyline of Pittsburgh in this movie you must be toking the Maui-wowie. The movie was filmed in Cincinnati-check the credits, and by the way, they only mention the fact that the kid has moved to Cincinnati about a million times! If you have other doubts, watch the movie again-the Krohn Conservatory in Eden Park and Riverfront Stadium might help sort things out for you. By the way, the movie is wicked awesome and I recommend it to everyone. Viva Cincinnati-and for those of you who haven't been, it's not as lame as it's made out to be in the movie. Us native Cincinnatians frequently rollerblade down "Devil's Backbone" and beat the snot out of each other on the hockey rink-it's a happening place.

"The French Connection of Rollerblade Chases", a quote that may attract a wondering teenage eye to the front cover in the video store, hopefully the shop will be closing and they may reside to taking this to the counter. I would then hope they had the same experience I did. From perfectly selected music to skating scenes to make exercise look more than just burning calories, this film couldn't be more perfect. The protagonist Mitchell Goosen, woke up from a Californian Dream to find his self in the Winters of Cincinnati, with no use for a surf board other than as an ironing board. Mitchell's Zen like attitudes aren't favoured at the local school and it's not until he puts on a pair on Rollerblades is it you see the power in his stride. Not forgetting the appearances from a young Jack Black and Seth Green, the story moves the watcher with the a light hearted portrayal into teenage romance and angst. Five Star

Airborne fmovies. I enjoyed this movie as a kid, but have only recently re-watched it. Present impressions are not as favorable, but at least one aspect was impressive. Granted, the storyline was nothing new and at times corny, but there was a bit of vocabulary and a few good lines. What most impressed me was the novelty of the street skating scenes. These moves were being done by a few people at the time, but most kids like me had never seen such things. As I just watched now, I was surprised at things like the flip on the half pipe and riding walls and jumping cars and grinding rails. For 93, that's just plain amazing. For a lot of my friends this movie became a sort of street skating manual. We even painted dragons on our skates like the main character. Some of us even went on to be sponsored and I think it all started with this movie. Considered from this perspective, Airborne is definitely innovative and classic.

I'll have to admit I was pleasantly surprised with this movie. It's not the greatest film ever made, but I doubt that is what the film makers were going for. Instead this surfing/roller-blade romp is an entertaining, fun and realistic story of teenagers coping with peer pressure–something we can all relate to. Shane McDermott is well suited for the "kid out of water," and his way of handling the "bully" situations is a lesson to be learned by all. The roller-blade sequences are fantastic to watch, even if you're not in to that sort of thing. Seth Green is perfect as the geeky–but cool–cousin that's always picked on; Green's performance is definitely a precursor to his talent as Kenny in Can't Hardly Wait. Two other reasons to like this flick are the always delightful Edie McClurg and Stewart Copeland's rhythmically exciting music. Check this one–you won't be disappointed!

If you don't go into this movie with overly high expectations, but just go with the flow, this movie can be very enjoyable. So it isn't Academy Awards material. How many movies are? Anyway, for a teen high-school love story, this isn't bad. I enjoyed the skating, even though I have been to Pittsburgh enough times to recognize most of the streets, and certainly the skyline. I am more bugged by the movies made in Canada that try to pass themselves as U.S. locations (that tax credit must be a real biggie!)

If you like fish-out-of-water movies or H.S. love interests, give Airborne a look.

I hope Mitchell eventually made his way here to O'ahu and surfed our waves! Now there is Airborne! (especially the latest thing, Kite surfing!)

Laters brah