Air Force One Is Down

I went into this one expected it to be a cheap knock-off of Air Force One. It's really not, beyond the title and protagonist being a war criminal orchestrating release from prison. The rest of the story is very different. Significantly it's not set on board a plane. I think the book this is based on pre-dates the Hollywood movie.

This is also not a film. It's a TV miniseries. So that makes me manage my expectations a bit om the budget.

With both these things in mind I actually think this is not a bad show. The acting is for the most part decent. There are one or two 'baddies' who are silly cliches. The Serb captain who is smoking the stub of a cigar in every scene is just bad direction. The actor is actually ok when he gets some lines. His female companion is very wooden. Don't think the director can be blamed for her poor acting though. It's just bad! She also smokes constantly. Must be a bad guy thing.

The three heroes of the story are an Irish UN soldier, a British diplomat, and an American journalist. Bit of a far fetched mix but hey it's fiction, we'll let it slide. Linda Hamilton gets a few cameos as the star name actor for the show playing the president.

Refreshingly there are a lot of location shoots in this show rather than cheap set-filming that low budget shows are guilty of. The special effects are not dreadful.

The story is a bit silly in places but overall it's an enjoyable watch. There are enough twists and turns to keep you engaged.

Not sure who gives a film crew money to make such an inconsistent, badly acted, hokey film. Nuff said, had high hopes, but they were dashed 10 minutes in.

Ionly saw this in my local sainsburys saying its a movie so when I found it for a pound in a charity shop I bought it.Now I don't normally review online but since its the 30th anniversary of Alistair Macleans death I felt like saying something.Boy oh boy what a disaster!For starters its not an Alistair Maclean novel its his plot written by John Denis.Alistair Maclean is my favourite thriller writer and I've read all 29 of his books but sadly the film versions are terrible.This one bears zero resemblance to the novel.The characters are so wooden woodpeckers could attack them!The action is fair but maybe its the idea that lets it down.A group of heroes with different abilities having to work as a team with a bit of comic relief is so 1980s.If it stuck to the book more and was made in the 1980s it might have worked better.

This mini-series with two episodes is truly a very good movie, and customers will be well entertained when watching Air Force One Is Down. Personally, I find that it is one of the best balanced versions of action and a good storyline. You are moved all along through the plot, and it contains quite a few surprises along the way. One should not see such a film as though it was 'faithful to history' as one reviewer seemed to think. Rather the contrary, this is just great fun in a good setting. For an IT-nerd such as myself, it also asks some pretty good questions as to what is actually possible. I would therefore claim that anyone and everyone will find something valuable in watching this film. I warmly recommend it.

I must be easily pleased but I really enjoyed it. It filled a few hours on a miserable rainy Saturday afternoon when all I wanted to be was entertained. Like anything with a feisty woman lead. Story was easy to follow and anything written by Alistair McLean is worth a watch. Didn't stretch my imagination too far. Actors were ok. Lots of action. Goodies versus badies. Throw in the American presidential aircraft and lots of shooting action. What's not to like? Don't know what else to comment on. Enjoyed watching it. Perfectly acceptable two part film to watch on an afternoon when all you want to be is entertained.