Air Force One (1997, R)
Directed by Wolfgang Peterson (In the Line of Fire)
Written by Andrew W. Marlowe (End of Days)
Starring: Harrison Ford (Star Wars), Gary Oldman (The Professional), William H. Macy (Plesantville), Glenn Close (Fatal Attraction), Wendy Crewson (To Gillian on her 37th Birthday)
Review: **1/2 out of ****
Air Force One is an action movie, and for that fact I can not recomend it.
As an action movie, this film was dull and predictable. Still, Air Force One succeeded, perhaps involunatarily, on some other levels. For one, it could have been a decent comedy/parody (in one scene, the President is caught reading an instructor's manual on how to work a celuular telephone; this is one hell of a phone to reach the White House from an altitude of 36,000 feet).
I also enjoyed seeing the layout of air force one as director Wolfgang Peterson (he directed the spectacular In The Line Of Fire; what's he doing here?) took us from one cliched action sequence to another. But, you can't rate a movie for something it isn't trying to be, so it would be in your best interest to wait until this thriller comes out of video, to be enjoyed with the privelage of a fast forward button.
Here's the plot from which you can predict the turn of events and outcome of the entire movie. The President's plane, air force one, is hijacked by terrorists (led by the always fascinating Gary Oldman). They believe that the President has escaped, so the terrorists hold his family and the entire cabinet hostage until their political leader, General Radek, is released from prison (Executive Decision). President Mitchell (Harrison Ford), of course, has not escaped, and is ready to kick some terrorist butt! (a messed up Passenger 57). Meanwhile, Vice President Bennett (Glenn Close) is talking on a telephone down below, trying to "reason" with Ivan and his group of baddies...what are they going to do, apologize and land the plane?
If your IQ is above that of an eggplant, you can see where the movie's going; fight scenes, predicaments with a terrorist waving a gun, family hostage issues, etc. Air Force One takes you through these cliches, in a stylish kind of way. If you wish, you can pay attention to the action, and try to care about the characters. But, if you wish to enjoy this film, pay more attention to the setting, and perhaps the performance of Gary Oldman (who insists on chewing up the screen in every movie he's in). All that Air Force One needed was some original action sequences to support the film's true star; then, perhaps, it could have been enjoyed on a couple more levels.
Movie Reviews starting with "A"
James Brundage's Review of Air Force One
Related Reviews:
Wolfgang Peterson:
Berge Garabedian's Review of Red Corner
Gary Oldman:
Berge Garabedian's Review of Lost In Space
Willaim H. Macy:
Berge Garabedian's Review of Fargo
James Brundage's Review of Plesantville
Scott Nowlin's Review of Plesantville
James Brundage's Review of Searching for Bobby Fischer (minor role)
Berge Garabedian's Review of Wag the Dog
Glenn Close: