Leofwine_draca
AIR FORCE ONE is one of the last wave of 'DIE HARD IN A...' Hollywood flicks inspired by the Bruce Willis blockbuster, although DIE HARD rip-offs would continue in B-movie cinema for years to come (and are still being made, in fact). This film has Harrison Ford's everyman US president tackling a gang of murderous Russian terrorists who have stormed Air Force One and are willing to sacrifice the hostages for their political ends. The film is dated and more than a little cheesy in some of the sentimental scenes (the black woman on the parachute is one of the most unintentionally hilarious scenes you'll find here) and the CGI effects haven't dated too well either. Otherwise, I really enjoyed it. Wolfgang Petersen brings some of the same claustrophobia as he mined in DAS BOOT and even manages to fit Jurgen Prochnow into a little role. Ford and Michael Douglas were my favourite Hollywood thriller stars of the 1980s and 1990s and Ford does well here as the tough yet believable character. There's plenty of suspense and action throughout and the latter scenes are well staged and exciting. Gary Oldman reprises his volatile villain role from LEON to strong effect and as a whole this is an entertaining package where you can just switch off and enjoy.
Davis P
Air Force One (1997) is mostly an action packed fun ride. It stars Harrison Ford, Wendy crewson, Gary Oldman, Glenn close, and William H. Macy. The performances are well done. I enjoyed seeing Harrison Ford not only kiss terrorist ass, but also be a great family man and brave president. Wendy Crewson was good in her role as First Lady of the United States, she had some very emotional deep scenes that she handled with great skill. But out of everyone, Gary Oldman was hands down the best performance in this film. I absolutely loved his evil performance in this film, he was able to play this unbelievably evil terrorist so realistically and you never once doubted that he would follow through the atrocities he was saying he would commit if his demands were not meet. And then we have the Vice President of the United States, Glenn Close. Her performance wasn't quite to the level of Gary Oldman's, but I still really liked her in this character of hers. She came across as true to her values, tough as nails, and willing to do anything to keep her commander in chief, the first family, and everyone aboard Air Force Once safe. The action sequences are done very well, the script has a good pace to it and it's deep in sentiment and really makes you care about these characters in peril. 8/10 for Air Force One!
Mickey Taylor (rtaylor701)
"Air Force One" starts out with the president of the United States in Moscow signing a no nonsense pact with the Russian premier in regards to dealing with terrorists. Harrison Ford, portraying the role of the president, has to soon wonder about his dealings as a group of Russian neo-nationalists have managed to hijack the presidential plane with him, his family, and other members of the government aboard. These hijackers desire the release from a Russian prison one of their central leaders in a coup against the current Russian premier and his government. With some discharge of weapons aboard the plane, and a few hostages killed, the suspense builds to a tension-filled ride. Finally, the president manages to turn the tide in his favor, but the plane, which was severely crippled in various systems, now has to piloted for a possible landing. And then, a traitor on board plays what could be a final card in this suspenseful game.Harrison Ford plays the president, Gary Oldman the leader of the terrorists, and other members of the cast include Glenn Close as the Vice President on the ground, William H. Macy as staff, Wendy Crewson as the president's wife, and Dean Stockwell as Secretary of Defense. All in all, a very good movie to view.
bowmanblue
Harrison Ford plays... well, basically Harrison Ford, only he's President of America. And that's pretty believable. He's at his most charming all the way through the film – basically Han Solo crossed with Indiana Jones. It doesn't take much imagination to see how easily he was 'elected' into the White House. But of course the cons of being the most powerful man in the world means that people like Gary Oldman will try and slip on board your plane, take your family hostage and threaten to murder them unless he gets what he wants. In this case... some rogue dictator general needs freeing from prison, but that's by the by. All that matters is that President Ford (no, that's not his name, but I can't remember what it was) is on the loose aboard the presidential plane, Air Force One, and not too happy about the unwanted guests.When I first went to see Air Force One in the cinema, the film 'Die Hard' was at the back of my mind. In Die Hard, Bruce Willis had an entire skyscraper to hide in while he picked off the terrorists one by one. I did wonder whether a film about a man trying to hide in a plane (even Air Force One) would actually be believable. I was wrong. Don't think that just because the action centres on one (slightly smaller) location that it isn't brilliantly tense.It's an action film, so if you're into your tense stand-offs and shooting bad-guys, you should love this. There are plenty of decent enough characters, but it's Harrison Ford who carries the film on his own. Like I say, he's at his most charming and you can't help but root for him. And it's worth mentioning Gary Oldman, who, whereas Ford is at his most charming, Oldman revels in his evil-doings. There's no mistaking 'good' and 'bad' in this film.It's nearly two hours long, but it doesn't seem that way. Just like its simple setting, it has an equally simple plot and you don't really need to use too much brainpower to understand anything. But then that's its major selling point – it doesn't try to be anything other than a rocking action film. And, based on that, it succeeds.And, when Barrack Obama steps down, I really think Harrison Ford should take up the mantle.
AD
