Air Force One
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.jpg) Don't mess with President James Marshall!
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Air Force One is a 1997 American political action-thriller film directed and co-produced by Wolfgang Petersen. The film stars Harrison Ford, Gary Oldman, Glenn Close, Wendy Crewson, Xander Berkeley, William H. Macy, Dean Stockwell, and Paul Guilfoyle. It was written by Andrew W. Marlowe.
Plot
President James Marshall is returning home from Moscow when his plane Air Force One is hijacked by Russian terrorists and he finds himself in a do-or-die hostage situation.
Why It Rocks
- The idea of the President of the United States being caught up in a Die Hard-esque situation is very original, and it manages to fit the action movie genre very well. It's considered to be one of the most popular "Die Hard on an X" films of the 1990s.
- The movie has memorable and likable characters - especially our main protagonist, President James Marshall, who is a popular President and a family man who loves his wife Grace and daughter Alice. Marshall is also a decorated Vietnam veteran and Medal of Honor recipient who speaks reasonably fluent Russian.
- The CGI effects for Air Force One, as well as the F-1 fighter jets, are mostly good for late 1990s standards.
- It's interesting to see Glenn Close play the Vice President.
- "Get off my plane!" is one of the best pre-mortem one-liners in movie history.
- Practical blood squibs.
- Awesome action sequences (e.g. the shootout scene on Air Force One).
- Frightening twist where it's revealed that one of President Marshall's staff members is actually a spy for the terrorists.
- The story is very strong and straight-forward most of the time.
- The soundtrack, composed by Jerry Goldsmith and Joel McNeely, is fantastic.
- Superb acting, especially from Harrison Ford, Gary Oldman and William H. Macy.
- The ending is great, with President Marshall overpowering the traitorous Agent Gibbs and leaving him to die as Air Force One nosedives into the Caspian Sea.
The Only Bad Quality
- The effects in the scene where Air Force One crashes into the sea look poorly rendered even by 1997 standards.
Reception
On Rotten Tomatoes, Air Force One has an approval rating of 78% based on 58 reviews, with an average score of 6.99/10. The site's critical consensus reads "This late-period Harrison Ford actioner is full of palpable, if not entirely seamless, thrills". Metacritic scores a film a 61/100 based on 25 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".
Trivia
- Arnold Schwarzenegger was originally considered for the role of James Marshall, but turned it down.
