{"id":41718,"date":"2023-11-09T16:32:11","date_gmt":"2023-11-09T21:32:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/?p=41718"},"modified":"2023-11-09T16:32:11","modified_gmt":"2023-11-09T21:32:11","slug":"airborne-at-30-still-the-fantastic-90s-bonanza","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/2023\/11\/09\/airborne-at-30-still-the-fantastic-90s-bonanza\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cAirborne\u201d at 30: Still The Fantastic 90\u2019s Bonanza"},"content":{"rendered":"

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In the 1990\u2019s everything was \u201cExtreme\u201d or \u201cMega.\u201d Everything had to be what with the introduction of things like X Games, which gave way to a huge tidal wave of things that were more adrenaline fueled, faster, and often times advertised \u201cThis isn\u2019t your daddy\u2019s:\u201d Insert product here. Along with the sports being more extreme, the movies were more extreme, and the 1990\u2019s carried over the skateboard generation from the 1980\u2019s. Where the massive influx of skateboard movies permeated cult cinema, the 1990\u2019s were where there were even more efforts to integrate it in to mainstream cinema. While it didn\u2019t quite succeed (we did get \u201cBrink!\u201d, I guess), we did manage to get great films like my childhood favorite \u201cAirborne.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Released in 1993, thirty years later, \u201cAirborne\u201d is still that wonderful time capsule of the 1990\u2019s that takes everything great about the decade. It has skating, it has a love story, it has more skating, it has a climactic downhill battle between a squad of skaters for \u201crep points,\u201d it gave us a young dorky Seth Green, Shane McDermott\u2019s big teeth, Edie McClurg, Patrick O\u2019Brien, and it gave us Jack Black in a very rare role as the villainous jock. \u201cAirborne\u201d has everything and has managed to hold up to repeated viewings over the years. While I will admit it clicks in more with kids that experienced the decade, \u201cAirborne\u201d is still that classic slice of the decade.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Shane McDermott was one of the big up and comers of the decade who sadly kind of dimmed out once the millennium rolled around. I remember seeing him in the teen soap opera \u201cSwan\u2019s Crossing\u201d all the time, and always figured he was headed for superstar status. It\u2019s a shame since he\u2019s really good here as Mitchell, a young die hard surfer from California who is sent to live in Cincinnati for six months with his weird aunt and uncle while his parents are on an expedition to Australia. He aches for the waves to the point where he rides his board on his bed envisioning riding the tubes. Along the way he meets his younger cousin Wiley, who he accompanies to school.<\/p>\n

He also captures the attention of attractive young Nikki, a classmate who happens to be looked after by her very over protective brother Jack. Jack happens to be a part of the school\u2019s hockey and rollerblading team, and pits extra focus on Mitchell when he senses the pair has a palpable chemistry. Mitchell is so laid back that he endures their onslaught of bullying which comes in waves over the course of the semester, but he is so laid back that he lets even the worst punishment roll off his back. He also finds ways to cope with his pain by taking every chance to rollerblade through Cincinnati. The key to peace after all is rollerblading, as we find out later in the movie.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>\u201cAirborne\u201d is primarily a coming of age drama comedy paired with a sports film that pretty competently finds a way to connect the two themes for an explosive climax. McDermott is especially good as the lead character Mitchell who is able to really rise above a lot of the torment he receives, and greets everything with a snicker and sarcastic grin. He also works well off of Seth Green who is the obligatory dorky sidekick, but steals pretty much every scene he\u2019s in. I\u2019d expect no less from Green. Plus there\u2019s Brittney Powell who is just adorable as love interest Nikki.<\/p>\n

\u201cAirborne\u201d rises to a crescendo in the finale, where Mitchell is approached by Jack\u2019s squad to help them win a massive race down what they call \u201cThe Devil\u2019s Backbone.\u201d It is of course a dangerous competition but one for self respect, as Jack\u2019s squad are the more blue collar athletes in the city, while their rivals are the upper crest bourgeois opponents. Director Rob Bowman\u2019s work consists primarily of television projects, and he brings a ton of that episodic flavor to \u201cAirborne\u201d even staging a pretty damn excellent and riveting race \u201cfor all the glory.\u201d Yes, today it\u2019s pegged primarily as nineties cheese, and hasn\u2019t even earned itself a Blu-Ray release, but \u201cAirborne\u201d has so much going for it beyond mere nostalgia value.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>It\u2019s so much fun, so well filmed, and does a bang up job balancing the action, teen drama, and romance almost flawlessly. It\u2019s that pitch perfect film for a 90\u2019s themed movie night.<\/p>\n