Air Force One

Harrison Ford plays a president who refuses to negotiate with terrorists. But after one terrorist (Gary Oldman) hijacks the Air Force One and the president's wife and daughter, maybe he will have to rethink his position.

Allegedly, Kevin Costner was supposed to be playing the president. Boy am I glad he was too busy making "The Postman" for this movie. Not only did he make a great Postman, but he would have made a horrible president. When you want drama, you call Costner. When you want action, you call Bruce Willis. When you want the perfect blend of drama and action, you call Harrison Ford (think "The Fugitive", for example... don't think "Star Wars").

Ford is great as a diplomat, but equally as good with a gun and in a fight. But the real star of this is Gary Oldman, who plays an evil and soulless terrorist determined to get his old general freed from prison. Oldman plays it like he means it, killing mercilessly while still appearing cold and calculated rather than insane. The writer even had the decency to have Oldman deliver lines condemning the president for bombing villages while being against terror.

Glenn Close and Dean Stockwell made great supporting stars, and even William H. Macy seemed a little less flamboyant than usual in his role as a military man.

This film is especially interesting in the context of our current president, George W. Bush. Bush has also gone on record many times for not negotiating with terrorists and takes a hardline approach similar to Harrison Ford. What would Bush do if terrorists hijacked his plane or kidnapped his family? Even giving me that visual image made this film worth the viewing.

I know what you're thinking, "What the hell is he saying?" It's true that we've had so many biographies about presidents in which some of the movies told about historic incidents, why not have a fictional president that could kick ass and take names? Harrison Ford is the man for the job.

"Air Force One" is a thriller that involves Russian terrorist Ivan Korshunov (Gary Oldman) and his gang of criminals hijacking the first plane along with the president's wife and child and his staff. Meanwhile, President James Marshall (Harrison Ford) is hiding after an attack on the ship where he must reunite with his family before they end up victims to Ivan's plan if the president doesn't release a Russian prisoner who happens to be a general and a terrorist.

The film itself is a nail bitter thriller with an all star cast as Ford and Oldman play their usual good guy/villain roles with Glenn Close, Wendy Crewson, Xander Berkerly and William H. Macy in supporting roles. If there was such thing where Harrison Ford had a nomination for president, I would vote.

An Action movie is made to entertain, and should always be taken at face value. With this in mind Air Force One hits the mark, despite some minor flaws it still delivers tension, drama and action in abundance.

The cast is strong and full of believable characters, the story is compelling and the traditional dose of sentiment is added sparingly and to good effect. Harrison Ford and Gary Oldman both put in solid performances and they are well supported by the likes of Glenn Close and Wendy Crewson.

Overall Air Force One is an safe bet for the average movie fan and should entertain most, without ever really excelling.

7/10

Harrison Ford, Gary Oldman, and Glenn Close are the main stars in director Wolfgang Petersen's action thriller 'Air Force One', a film about the scenario of the famous presidential jet being taken over by a group of terrorists. The terrorists, led by Ivan Korshunov (Oldman) want one thing, the release of one of their comrades named General Redek. However, little do they know the President is a very intelligent and lethal man, and the film becomes a cat and mouse game onboard the air liner between the terrorists and the president. The suspense works out well, there are some good moments of surprise and plenty of good action sequences. The film keeps its momentum and pace going, despite some lame moments through out (e.g. the 'parachuting' scene). Harrison Ford is enjoyable in the role of the tough- as- nails president, but it's not particularly anything new for the actor. Gary Oldman is spectacular as the cold blooded terrorist, he is very commanding and daunting in the role. Close also her role well, making the character live, also worth nothing is William H. Macy as a major on board the flight. The script has some nice lines to it, and some strongly written scenes of action, though there are still notable clichés. Petersen's direction is almost furious in style, he tries his hardest to not let the film fall apart, and in some way he succeeds. All in all, 'Air Force One' is worth watching, it's not necessarily one of the top action films of all time, but it has plenty of moments and is definitely entertaining. Oldman is also a very nice treat. 8/10

There are two reasons that Air Force One succeeds: Harrison Ford and Gary Oldman. Their performances alone keep this political action flick in the air. However, the decades haven't been kind to the visual effects-the exterior flying scenes look really cheesy now. Also, this film feels excessively violent. Nevertheless, I'd still vote to watch it again one day.