RottenTomatoes.com
Log In | Register | What is RT?
RT's Blu-ray HQ
  • Home
  • Movies
  • DVD
  • Celebrities
  • News
  • Critics
  • Trailers & Pictures
  • CommunityBeta
  • Box Office
  • | Best Of
  • | Certified Fresh
  • | Showtimes
RT Search Powered by Google
help icon Enhanced RT
searches on Google
Click here to turn on enhanced search results from RT on your Google searches.
 
Movies / On DVD / The Air I Breathe
The Air I Breathe

Rate this Movie Help Icon

  • Write a Review
  • Read Reviews
  • Add to List
  • Buy Poster External Icon
  • Visit Official Site External Icon
Bookmark and Share

The Air I Breathe (2007)

  • T-Meter Critics
  • Top Critics
  • RT Community
  • My Critics
  • My Friends
  • DVD
13 %
Tomatometer
Template ImageTemplate Image

How does the Tomatometer work Help Icon

Reviews Counted:23

Fresh:3

Rotten:20

Average Rating:3.9/10

Consensus: The Air I Breathe is a jumbled indie production that accomplishes little save for the squandering of a talented cast.

Rated: 15 [See Full Rating] for violence, language and some sexual content/nudity.

Runtime: 1 hr 37 mins

Genre: Dramas

Theatrical Release:16-05-2008

Synopsis: Solid performances from an all-star cast bring this ensemble drama to life. As parallel stories unfold, the viewer discovers unlikely connections between several seemingly unrelated people. Though... Solid performances from an all-star cast bring this ensemble drama to life. As parallel stories unfold, the viewer discovers unlikely connections between several seemingly unrelated people. Though the film is divided up into segments entitled "Happiness," "Pleasure," "Sorrow," and "Love," the mood is melancholy overall. Splattered with violent acts, THE AIR I BREATHE touches on the aforementioned themes and more, pondering the meaning of life and death through characters who live on the edge and risk everything for the thrill of joy, chance, and escape, even if that means death. The film begins with Forest Whitaker playing a bored and frustrated nine-to-fiver who feels stuck in his routine. After taking a huge risk on a whim and losing it all, the doomed businessman has the unlucky fortune of meeting with Brendan Fraser's character, a numb hit-man who feels no remorse until crossing paths with a troubled pop star (Sarah Michelle Gellar). At the center of much of this chaos is Fingers (Andy Garcia), a ruthless villain intent on killing anyone who gets in the way of his success. Though the plot at times feels contrived with all its strategically placed coincidences, writer-director Jieho Lee anchors the film with clever editing and a thoughtful script, which is careful to cover events from multiple points of view. Julie Delpy and Emile Hirsch give dimension to the stories as secondary characters whose actions become central to the plot. [More]

Starring: Kevin Bacon, Forest Whitaker, Brendan Fraser, Sarah Michelle Gellar

Starring: Kevin Bacon, Forest Whitaker, Brendan Fraser, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Andy Garcia, Julie Delpy, Clark Gregg, Emile Hirsch

Director: Jieho Lee

Director: Jieho Lee
Screenwriter: Jieho Lee, Bob DeRosa
Producer: Paul Schiff, Emilio Diez Barroso, Darlene Caamano Loquet, Ian Duncan
Composer: Marcelo Zavros
Studio: ThinkFilm

[See More Credits]

  • Trailers
  • Pictures
1 - 5 of 14

See More Movie Trailers & Pictures

Reviews for The Air I Breathe

  • T-Meter Critics
  • Top Critics
  • RT Community
  • My Critics
  • My Friends
  • DVD
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 >> >|
Arrange By:Fresh | Rotten | Comments | Name | Source | Date
 
 

As the plot strands begin to coalesce everything becomes far too overwrought.

Full Review Source: Eye for Film | comment Comment
06/12/08
Amber Wilkinson
Amber Wilkinson
Eye for Film

The movie takes itself way too seriously, and it doesn’t add up to much, but, nevertheless, it’s borderline entertaining.

Full Review Source: Orlando Weekly | comment Comment
02/28/08
J.B. Mitchell
J.B. Mitchell
Orlando Weekly

Your appreciation of this circular plotting will have a great deal to do with how tongue-in-cheek you believe the film is

Full Review Source: New York Theatre Wire | comment Comment
02/11/08
Brandon Judell
Brandon Judell
New York Theatre Wire

Mr. Lee is a former director of Asian music videos, which explains why his debut feature, from the high-octane opening credits to the Marnie-esque ending, is all style and no substance.

Full Review Source: Manhattan Movie Magazine | comment Comment
02/03/08
Marlow Stern
Marlow Stern
Manhattan Movie Magazine

A perfectly awful example of a certain breed of American indie film that brings together a lot of familiar faces for an ensemble drama about...nothing.

Full Review Source: Metromix.com | comment 3 Comments
01/25/08
Geoff Berkshire
Geoff Berkshire
Metromix.com

None of the four morality plays ... are necessarily original in plot, nor is the film itself particularly innovative in its structure ... it just seems flat and useless.

Full Review Source: Cinematical | comment Comment
01/25/08
Christopher Campbell
Christopher Campbell
Cinematical

Each story has its moments, but Air lacks an overarching vision.

Full Review Source: USA Today | comment Comment
01/25/08
Claudia Puig
Claudia Puig
USA Today

Aside from demonstrating how liberation and change can occur even at the most dire turn of events, it's not exactly clear exactly what his overly ambitious drama is trying to say.

Full Review Source: TV Guide's Movie Guide | comment Comment
01/25/08
Ken Fox
Ken Fox
TV Guide's Movie Guide

Brendan Fraser is Pleasure, Sarah Michelle Gellar is Sorrow, Kevin Bacon is Love, Forest Whitaker is Happiness, and the director is Pretension.

Full Review Source: New York Post | comment Comment
01/25/08
Kyle Smith
Kyle Smith
New York Post

I can't fault any of the actors for anything other than bad judgment. Their performances are fine, but a good fortune cookie might have told them to stay away from this.

Full Review Source: New York Daily News | comment Comment
01/25/08
Jack Mathews
Jack Mathews
New York Daily News

A stew of cheap irony, ponderous but meaningless allegory, violence and pretension, the movie is all borrowed style and calculated pandering. It does, however, get more ludicrous by the minute. So in that sense, it's good for an occasional laugh.

Full Review Source: Los Angeles Times | comment Comment
01/25/08
Carina Chocano
Carina Chocano
Los Angeles Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

not a nihilistic work of cinematic art, but a laugh-out-loud slapstick free-for-all.

Full Review Source: Filmcritic.com | comment Comment
01/24/08
Paul Brenner
Paul Brenner
Filmcritic.com

Four unappealing mini-dramas about happiness, pleasure, sorrow, and love.

Full Review Source: Spirituality and Practice | comment 1 Comment
01/24/08
Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat
Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat
Spirituality and Practice

Ah, January, hallowed dustbin for projects half-baked, too cooked, or both, as in the case of this overstuffed actioner.

Full Review Source: L.A. Weekly | comment Comment
01/24/08
Ella Taylor
Ella Taylor
L.A. Weekly

With any luck, The Air I Breathe should be the last gasp of the faux-Altmanesque school of serendipitous storytelling.

Full Review Source: Newsday | comment Comment
01/24/08
Gene Seymour
Gene Seymour
Newsday

It’s particularly frustrating to watch Whittaker, the strongest thespian of the bunch, desperately mine for gold in a narrative landslide.

Full Review Source: New York Press | comment Comment
01/23/08
Eric Kohn
Eric Kohn
New York Press

[Jieho] doesn't know what to do with actors, however, and the film's impressive ensemble is wasted.

Full Review Source: Film Journal International | comment Comment
01/23/08
Rex Roberts
Rex Roberts
Film Journal International

Morosely pretentious.

Full Review Source: Variety | comment Comment
01/22/08
Ronnie Scheib
Ronnie Scheib
Variety
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Ignore all of that foolishness and watch the collision of emotions The Air I Breathe provides -- it is enough all by itself to leave you breathless.

Full Review Source: Boxoffice Magazine | comment Comment
01/18/08
Tim Cogshell
Tim Cogshell
Boxoffice Magazine

For rock-bottom nasty, with no social relevance, there is The Air I Breathe, a load of amateurish bilge so silly I thought I was watching a screening at Comedy Central.

Full Review Source: New York Observer | comment Comment
01/16/08
Rex Reed
Rex Reed
New York Observer
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 >> >|
all

Latest News for The Air I Breathe

January 26, 2008: Trailer & Poster review Opens in new window
More...

January 24, 2008: Critics Consensus: Rambo is No Rocky, Guess Meet the Spartans Tomatometer!
This week at the movies, we've got vigilante justice, internet intrigue, deft dancing, and Spartan satires. What do the critics have to say? More...

January 13, 2008: trailer and trailer review Opens in new window
More...

November 30, 2006: Marcelo Zarvos scores The Air I Breathe Opens in new window
More...

See All

More DVDs

Top Rentals
Tomatometer Percentage Movie
15% 15% The Ugly Truth
98% 98% Up
36% 36% G.I. Joe: The Rise of …
52% 52% The Taking of Pelham 1…
45% 45% Ice Age: Dawn of the D…

More Rentals…

New On DVD This Week
Tomatometer Percentage Movie
36% 36% Angels & Demons
68% 68% Funny People
25% 25% Four Christmases
45% 45% Shorts

More New Releases…

What’s Hot On RT

Prince of Persia

Prince of Persia

Your first look at the swashbuckler.

Vampires

Vampires

We rank cinema's bloodsuckers.

Avatar

Avatar

The full trailer for Cameron's epic.

2012

2012

12 facts about Emmerich's disaster flick.

Other News

  • Top Stories
  • Popular
  • Interviews
 
 

Comments

 
 
Top Stories
Headlines Comments
  
  • First Look at Shrek Forever After Source: USA Today
0
  • Woody Harrelson Will Battle Zombies in 3-D Source: Moviehole
0
  • Natalie Portman Says Kat Denning Is in Thor Source: MTV
34
  • Disney Restructuring Has Broad Implications Source: Los Angeles Times
10
  • Joel Silver Talks Ninja Assassin, Sgt. Rock, Lobo, and More Source: Collider.com
1
  • Weekly Ketchup: Idris Elba cast in Thor, more Spider-Man 4 rumors
116
  • Idris Elba Joins Thor Source: Hollywood Reporter
112
  • Jackass 3D Coming in 2010? Source: Collider.com
32
  • 6 Reasons 'Twilight' Is Doomed Source: The Wrap
64
  • Forbes Names Hollywood's Most Overpaid Actors Source: Forbes
20
Popular
Headlines Comments
  
  • Box Office Guru Wrapup: New Moon Shatters Records
175
  • Critics Consensus: New Moon Wanes
129
  • Tomatometer Watch: Will Twilight's New Moon Dazzle?
97
  • Total Recall: Star-Crossed Lovers
75
  • Total Recall: John Travolta's Best Movies
71
  • Weekly Ketchup: Idris Elba cast in Thor, more Spider-Man 4 rumors
58
  • Friday Harvest: New Moon, Avatar, and more!
32
  • Critics Consensus: Flee From Ninja Assassin
21
  • "I Don't Hate Women": Lars von Trier on Antichrist
12
  • Five Favorite Films With Zombieland Director Ruben Fleischer
5
Interviews
Headlines Comments
  
  • "I Don't Hate Women": Lars von Trier on Antichrist
12
  • Eric Bana talks Love the Beast - RT Interview
9
  • Fight Club Sound Designer Reflects on Film's 10th Anniversary
19
  • James Schamus talks Taking Woodstock - RT Interview
6
  • John Hurt Talks Harry Potter, Quentin Crisp and Alien - The RT Interview
15
  • Terry Gilliam Talks Doctor Parnassus
20
  • Wes Anderson Talks Fantastic Mr. Fox - RT Interview
8
  • Wolverine Creator Len Wein Talks About the Film
28
  • Gavin Hood Talks Wolverine; Possible Sequel
28
  • Duncan Jones talks Moon, Sam Rockwell, and Mute
14
 
 

Sponsored Links

Around The Network

  • The Air I Breathe at Rotten Tomatoes
  • The Air I Breathe at IGN

Fresh Links

Featured
RT on YouTube
RT on YouTube External Link

Subscribe to RT's YouTube channel and don't miss a second of our cracking video content.

RT on Twitter
RT on Twitter External Link

Follow Rotten Tomatoes and join us as we tweet about the week's releases.

 
 
About| Site Map| Help| RT To Go| Contact Us| Critics Submission| Linking to RT| Licensing| Movie List| Celebs List| Newsletter
IGN Logo

IGN.com | GameSpy | Comrade | Arena | FilePlanet | GameSpy Technology
TeamXbox | Planets | Vaults | VE3D | CheatsCodesGuides | GameStats | GamerMetrics
AskMen.com | Rotten Tomatoes | Direct2Drive | Green Pixels


By continuing past this page, and by the continued use of this site, you agree to be bound by and abide by the User Agreement.
Copyright 1998-2009, IGN Entertainment, Inc. About IGN | Support | Advertise | Privacy Policy | User Agreement | Subscribe to RT's XML feed! IGN RSS Feeds
IGN's enterprise databases running Oracle, SQL and MySQL are professionally monitored and managed by Pythian Remote DBA
Certain product data ©1995-present Muze, Inc. For personal use only. All rights reserved.