Supelice Dreadfully Boring

Lollivan It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.

Neive Bellamy Excellent and certainly provocative... If nothing else, the film is a real conversation starter.

Ezmae Chang This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

Paul Kydd Available on Blu-ray Disc (Region B)USA 1997 English/Russian (Colour); Action/Thriller/Drama (Beacon/Columbia/Radiant); 125 minutes (15 certificate)Crew includes: Wolfgang Petersen (Director); Andrew W. Marlowe (Screenwriter); Wolfgang Petersen, Gail Katz, Armyan Bernstein, Jon Shestack (Producers); Thomas A. Bliss, Marc Abraham, David Lester (Executive Producers); Michael Ballhaus (Cinematographer); William Sandell (Production Designer); Richard Francis-Bruce (Editor); Jerry Goldsmith (Composer)Cast includes: Harrison Ford (President James Marshall), Gary Oldman (Egor Korshunov), Glenn Close (Vice President Kathryn Bennett), Wendy Crewson (Grace Marshall), Liesel Matthews (Alice Marshall), Paul Guilfoyle (Chief of Staff Lloyd Shepherd), Xander Berkeley (Agent Gibbs), William H. Macy (Major Caldwell), Dean Stockwell (Defense Secretary Walter Dean), Tom Everett (National Security Advisor Jack Doherty), Jürgen Prochnow (General Ivan Radek), Donna Bullock (Press Secretary Melanie Mitchell), Elya Baskin (Andrei Kolchak), David Vadim (Igor Nevsky), Spencer Garrett (White House Aide Thomas Lee), Bill Smitrovich (General Northwood), Philip Baker Hall (US Attorney General Andrew Ward)Academy Award nominations (2): Film Editing, Sound"Five miles up, the President of the United States is waging war on terrorism. Face to face."When Russian radicals hijack Air Force One, with the US President (Ford), the First Family (supportive wife, pretty daughter) and important members of his staff aboard, it is left to the president himself, a decorated war hero, to defeat the terrorists (led by a scarily fanatical Oldman), save his family (and other hostages), and prevent a just-apprehended nationalist leader from being released from captivity.Spectacular action and special effects are over the top even for this type of jingoistic nonsense, with, once again, a British character actor in a foreign accent playing the main villain (exceptionally well), and the USA coming up roses.If only it weren't quite so entertaining...Blu-ray Extras: Featurette, Trivia Track, Movie Showcase, Trailer. ** (4/10)

Mike LeMar Because this uncovered base leaves the wonderment of how the hijackers got past security in the first place, I had to mark this movie down significantly. It's explained to the First Lady that an authorized group to board the plane was ambushed by these radicals on their way to the plane. The First Lady says, "Tell me it's not that easy." She gets the response that it's not and a bunch of processes are listed to her, such as creating IDs. We're never explained how the radicals did all that; were just shown Gary Oldman placing his thumb on the laptop screen with it then popping up a matching picture of him as a "Welcome aboard" confirmation.

sme_no_densetsu For a movie that recycles most of its ingredients from past action movies (especially "Die Hard"), "Air Force One" still manages to stand out relatively well in its own right. This is partially due to the high concept premise that's chock full of potential.In the movie, a group of terrorists hijack Air Force One, which is the official call sign of the aircraft carrying the President of the United States of America. Luckily, the President just happens to be a tough-as-nails Medal of Honor recipient (rather than, say, a blowhard with a combover). Obviously, these terrorists are about to experience some major turbulence.Starring as the President is Harrison Ford. There aren't too many actors that could pull off this role but Ford is one of them. His pedigree as an action hero is unquestionable but he's also convincing as a stalwart leader and a loving husband & father. His worthy adversary is played by the always captivating Gary Oldman, who contributes a deliciously villainous performance. The supporting cast is headed by the formidable Glenn Close as the Vice President and is otherwise studded with the likes of Dean Stockwell, William H. Macy & Philip Baker Hall.As I alluded to above, the story borrows heavily from other (better) action movies, particularly "Die Hard". In fact, there are so many parallels that you could say that this movie is basically "Die Hard" on a plane, with the President in place of John McClane. That being said, the "Die Hard" template translates very well to the setting of "Air Force One". Unfortunately, in the later stages the action gets somewhat ludicrous, possibly in an attempt to distinguish the movie from other similar excursions.The sometimes over-the-top action isn't the only problem with the narrative, though. The catalyst for the story is a betrayal by one of the American Secret Service agents. However, director Wolfgang Peterson felt that it was unnecessary to provide a glimpse into this character's motivation, so he ended up leaving an explanatory scene on the cutting room floor. This is particularly baffling since the character figures into the action fairly significantly but he basically remains a mystery.Generally, though, from a directorial standpoint, Wolfgang Peterson did a fine job. Before eventually going overboard, the movie is quite suspenseful. Unfortunately, another drawback of the excesses in the action department is that the special effects aren't quite convincing. At least the Jerry Goldsmith score provides a rousing backdrop even when the story goes off the rails.Ultimately, "Air Force One" is a decent action movie but one that loses its way in the late stages. Apart from the aforementioned misguided action sequences, the final showdown with the terrorists also leaves something to be desired. Even so, the movie's still worth watching since Ford & Oldman going head to head makes for compelling viewing for a large chunk of the movie's runtime.

Mr-Fusion "Air Force One" comes packed with some considerable talent; not just the leads, but a wide array of well qualified supporting actors (and Jerry Goldsmith for good measure). That all of this talent is nearly blown on a story riddled with clichés is more than a little disappointing. This is a stock mid-'90s "Die Hard" clone (I mean, it's almost note-for-note), and it speaks volumes that Gary Oldman is wasted on an ill-defined character.But it's no secret that the movie's selling point is Harrison Ford kicking ass and turning the tables on the bad guys. And why wouldn't it be? Ford's got the believable ruggedness and it's always cool to see a take-charge commander-in-chief on the big screen. If this movie works, it's because of some of the action (the initial siege is pretty gripping) and because of its star. And some good flag-waving patriotism fits right in here, but as a whole, the movie also has a knack for overstaying its welcome. 6/10