Air Force Two

It should come as no surprise that I had never actually heard about this 2006 movie titled "In Her Line of Fire". I mean, an action thriller with Mariel Hemingway and David Keith in the leading roles wasn't exactly an equation that I would assume to be a fabulous result.

However, as I happened to stumble upon the movie by random chance here in 2024, of course I opted to sit down and watch it, on account of it being a movie that I have never seen before. And I do believe in giving a movie a fair chance.

I didn't know what to expect from writers Paula Goldberg and Anna Lorenzo, so they had every opportunity to entertain me with this movie. However, truth be told, then I wasn't expecting a whole lot from the movie.

The script and storyline in "In Her Line of Fire" was actually okay. It wasn't exactly rocket science here, not was it a particularly complex storyline. But I will say that writers Paula Goldberg and Anna Lorenzo put together a fair enough script and storyline, making this a movie that is watchable a single time.

While I was actually only familiar with Mariel Hemingway, David Keith and Jill Bennett on the cast list, I will say that the acting performances from everyone on the cast list were fair. The actors and actresses took a somewhat simplistic script and made it work. I actually never associated actress Mariel Hemingway with action movies before watching this movie.

"In Her Line of Fire" wasn't an overly memorable movie, though it was suitable for a single viewing. I can, however, in all honesty say that I am not returning to watch "In Her Line of Fire" a second time.

My rating of director Brian Trenchard-Smith's 2006 movie "In Her Line of Fire" lands on a four out of ten stars.

I was an extra in this movie with a small speaking part where I spoke Maori, our indigenous language here in New Zealand. I'm the soldier in the machine gun pit at the beginning of the movie. As a bit of a war buff myself, I would have done the movie for nothing, so was very pleased to get paid as well. Once released, I was quite amazed that it was better than I thought it would be but some parts were quite unbelievable such as the big table they hugged during the crash, surely they would have proper airline seats to strap themselves into, the explosions looked too computer generated and David Milbern asking the Vice President if he'd ever heard of Mogadishu, both being ex-Marines, seemed rather ridiculous. As stated by others, some scenes could have been done more accurately but all-in-all I enjoyed it and so did my family, even if I hadn't been in it. By the way, Mariel and David were very nice people to work with. They showed respect to all on set, even us lowly extras and Mariel was wonderful and showed no fear toward us rather large Polynesians at the post-shoot drinkies. To be in a lesbian war movie is something I can take to my grave with pride!!!

Why the plane crashed in the first place is uncertain, when the plane crossed over the island it's engines where running and the pilot had both elevator and aileron control judging by the way it maneuvered around obstacles on the island. The crash was of course necessary to set-up the main plot of the movie. This is a pretty standard action flick except the main Rambo type hero character is female. Like most movies of this genre the hero's seem to be immune to pain or serious physical injury even when they jump out of a moving jeep and slide down the side of a cliff, apart from the occasional cut or scratch. The hero's never miss a shot while the villains can take out a sundry character with a single shot, but can't seem to hit the hero's even when there are several of them using machine guns. If you like action flicks it is quite entertaining, but like most of this type of movie one is not expected to take them seriously. I must admit I was a little surprised by MagicStarfire's review and his obsession with lesbian sexuality, I was not sure we had watched the same movie. I saw Mariel Hemingway's character as a well-trained ex-marine as capable, tough and resourceful as any, regardless of gender. I have never subscribed to the belief that unless a woman is weak and helpless she must be a lesbian. The tension between the to female character's I saw as territorial in that the reporter was encroaching on her relationship with the Vice-president. However I guess one sees what one wants to see. As to the suggestion that it should have had a sex scene I feel that given the time frame the events are supposed to have occurred, the plot scenario and the pace of the film any sex scene regardless of sexual orientation would have been inappropriate, Evan if MagicStarfire would have given more points. PS:- with apology to MagicStarfire it appears that we were not watching quite the same movie in the Australian release for some reason all references to Mariel Hemingway's characters sexuality has been edited out so the character comes across as a strong resourceful woman and in the context of the plot (such as it is) the characters sexual orientation is irrelevant, there is no reason why a strong resourceful woman has to be a lesbian.

Goofs In the opening scene's in the aircraft despite the apparent turbulence affecting the passengers the cards and glasses did not slide around on the polished wood table, although the liquid in the glasses did slop around slightly.

Incorrect procedure

When the six passengers put on their life jackets they all inflated them immediately. If you inflate the life jacket before you leave the plane it will pin you to the ceiling with the rising water making it extremely difficult if not imposable to get out.

When the plane crashes into the sea with enough force to rip the engines from the wings, the cards still do not slide off the table, even as the water rushes in the cards are still there.

Since I don't have cable & there ain't any good shows on Wed., I was watching Telefutura. I learned from watchin' the opening the movie was called "Air Force Two," which I seriously doubt was a sequel to the Harrison Ford film. Only as I found the film's page here on IMDb have I learned that Mariel Hemingway was playing a lesbian. When I was watching the movie, I wouldn't notice it as it just appeared to be another shoot-'em-up, mindless action film w/ Spanish dubbing. & yep, once I also found out that those reviewing this movie were Austrians, I must've been the only non-Hispanic American watching it. & I also thought this movie was made in the 80s/90s, not 2006! R U kiddin'? A movie where the bad guys are jungle insurgents a la Iran-Contra/ Sandinistas/ Manuel Noriega? & made while the War on Terrorism's in progress? Well, that could explain why "In Her Line of Fire" didn't come to a theater near me or other Americans. The film was such a blatant throwback to those "Rambo" or "Die Hard" flics. Even if this film is available here in the U.S., I ain't sure if I can find it in the "bargain bin" at Costco or Target. Besides, this is the type of film that Telefutura would air on a Wednesday, as opposed to a Sunday night, which would draw more viewers. That's why I saw more promos for "Spider-Man 2" when it was on Telefutura on that Sunday night. This is for sure a film you will likely stumble upon when nothing good's on TV, & not a movie you "prepare" for by w8n' for it 2 start, watch it w/ others & have a snack.

I am not a lesbian, but very much gay sympathetic, and I was attracted to this film because both reviews on this site commended this film for its featuring a lesbian heroine who just happened to be lesbian, and not making any big thing out of it. It really did seem that someone very sensitive and sensible about human rights issues had gotten hold of the script.

Imagine my dismay when I took this DVD home from the shop and found that any reference to the Meriel Hemingway character's sexuality had been expunged!. Shame, shame on whoever released the movie on DVD in Australia. We are not a bunch of unsophisticated wowsers who can't cope with difference. It is always surprising how little credit censors give to an adult viewing audience.

Besides from the two reviews, it was hardly anything that would have been offensive.

Other than that the movie was very average indeed in spite of the non-stop action.