Air Marshal

Echoing the more caustic remarks of the other reviewers, but on a single point; the first scene in the film is a title to give us the setting: "Lybia." Wrong! (It could be worse. Later they could have spelled Europe, "Eupore.")

Going to the next scene, we see a Lt. Col. in front of a map showing locations and on which to map progress: "Libya." So glaring accuracy errors pointed out by other posters aside, even the most uninitiated in military matters or warfare will see that a major faux pas is committed in the first five minutes of the film. Oh well, I got the used DVD for $3, so I don't have a lot invested. I am just hoping as I view it now, that I can overlook the errors of the other posters and get $3 in value from it.

My first clue should have been when I saw the opening scene graphics....LYBIA!? Just where is that? You have so-called "special forces" teams that don't secure their terrorist captives, who run into a terrorist stronghold with no idea of how to get back out and who leave when the job's half done! I, as a former US Navy SEAL, am outraged. Whatever happened to the concept of "technical assistance" (and, for that matter, continuity). This movie gives new meaning to the term "disaster film". Where did scarface, the Mexican computer genius, come from. After 2 years his face still hadn't healed? I particularly liked the scene where the flight crew are engaging in banter in some country in "Eastern Europe"...right, one where the buildings have Greek lettering on them. And the plane, boss...the plane! According to electronic map, the transponder (which was turned off, I believe) showed that they were crossing Italy at a speed approaching 3500 mph. And while we're on that subject, it would have been nice to have a shot of a REAL plane in flight and REAL scenery instead of 57 minutes of MS Flight Simulator 2003 graphics. I hope Bill Gates got his money up front and didn't have to wait for box office receipts. I really think that the Director and Producer of this monumental tribute to video trash should be heavily fined and sent to bed without supper. Try as I might, I can find no connection between the opening scenes and the rest of the movie. Does the Writer or Director have ANY idea of the Chain of Command that flows downward from the President? Do they honestly think that a pre-pubescent, squeaky-voiced "suit" can order a military strike on a civilian target in a sovereign nation? WHO ARE THESE PEOPLE? Please, stop them before they make another movie.

Okay now, I've read all the other commentaries here on IMDb, and I can conclude that all positive reviews come from people in the US (who appear to think that ANY movie concerning killing Arab-types can't be a bad movie) and/or women that squirm by the sight of this joke of a lead, this Prescott-figure.

People, this movie sucks. I hope they stored it in a safe place, because of you'd leave this movie uncovered in an open field, it would create a black hole. Honestly.

The acting... WHAT acting? The special effects... Did they use MS-PAINT to make that "plane"? - The inaccuracy where it comes to armed forces, procedures, flying an airplane... The crew on this movie could not even portray someone blinking, even if they tried hard.

Too bad you can't vote for NO stars whatsoever.

There is not one category in which I can rate this movie positively... but I'll try anyway.

Plot: Nope. Other posters have beaten this one to death.

Military accuracy: My ROTC friend kept screaming that the Special Forces guys were using the wrong guns. He also tells me that the Navy doesn't use F-16s. I'll take his word on all that. I was annoyed at the clumsy way in which the alleged elite troops crouch-walked towards the hostile gunmen near the airport. Also, the fact that a White House fund raiser was authorized to make decisions involving missile strikes on civilians rather bothered me.

Physical accuracy: This just totally lost me. The plane didn't depressurize, nor did oxygen masks deploy, when the window blew out (a good half hour after it was shot, mind you). The CGI plane kept pitching and yawing at angles that can't happen. The shooters would frequently aim at other things (like the floor), yet their targets would fall back, shot in places only a magic bullet could reach. The list goes on.

Acting: Ha. The generic terrorists, who spoke perfectly articulated English, were so boring in their desires that I often wondered why they were even bothering. The "scared passengers" were more annoyed than anything, which made their presence annoying to the viewers. And Mr. Shirtless Dean Cain Wannabe was just sad.

Fight sequences: Competent stage acting, better than some films I've seen, but in no way what you'd call "good."

Plane realities: All wrong. I like how the pilot was from the school of flying that teaches top speed landings, without wing flaps, and while pointing the nose down. The internal layout of the plane did not come close to matching the external CGI shell. The hurricane-sized storm they fly through takes all of a minute and a half to get through. The speed at which they are tracked on the map (using a transponder that was shut off) is ludicrously fast. And I'm sorry, but the ability to land a prop lane in an IMac flight simulator should not convey any skill to pilot a commercial jet.

Sequels: Okay, so this is the one area that I can say something good. There is no sequel to Air Marshal. However, there are other films in the American Heroes series to which Air Marshal belongs.

I briefly looked at the other user comments for this movie before posting my own. Yes, this is too close to EXECUTIVE DECISION for its own good. Yes, there are laughable bits like how they misspell a certain country's name in the first few minutes. And there are other things, like how the terrorist's activities are a bit too uncomfortably close to what has happened in real life. Plus there's the fact that much of the movie is shot with a jiggly camera to simulate turbulence I guess, but is VERY distracting. The movie is full of flaws, yes. But at the same time, I can't say I was BORED with this movie. The bad parts of the movie are often entertaining in their own right. And there are some action sequences (like hand-to-hand combat) that aren't that badly done. This movie is probably too flawed to actively seek out, but if you come across it on a slow day, it just may make 90 or so minutes pass by.