Get your own Free Home PageIn “Air Force One,” the new two-hour thriller from “Das Boot” director Wolfgang Petersen, President James Marshall, played by Harrison Ford, has no tolerance for terrorism. His threats not to ever negotiate with terrorists are not idle. Of course, you give folks an ultimatum and they will treat you in kind.
Air Force One, the presidential jet, is accordingly hijacked by terrorists from one of the former Soviet republics during a trip from Moscow to Washington after a particularly intransigent Marshall speech. As it turns out, only the president, presumably jetisoned to safety in his pod after he was interrupted while watching a tape of a Michigan-Notre Dame football game, can save the plane, which carries his wife and daughter. Ford’s character slyly stays behind and the terrorists face an at-first unknown kink in their plans to make Marshall free a political prisoner who happens to be the most powerful man in Russia. Ford, as he has done in several remakes of Tom Clancy novels, improbably tries to counter the terrorists with wit, guile and almost super-human courage.
“Air Force One” is a modern-day fictional story — well, it’s really a farce. The scenes on the back of the super jet are as unrealistic as anything Hollywood’s ever done in the name of action entertainment. But the suspense and very loud sound effects keep the moviegoer glued to his or her seat. Still, you would think that Petersen, whose “Das Boot” is a classic of claustrophobic cinema, would think that, after wowing the audience with a real jet fighter and real planes, he might put some of his millions into a good crash scene. Instead, what the viewer gets is something generated by a computer or some cheap model. It’s all very ’80ish.
Regarding the proudly patriotic terrorists, no one could be dumb enough to shoot pilots during a hijacking and not have adequate replacements to fly the plane. It’s so implausible to have only one experienced 747 pilot and he nearly crashed Air Force One into an airport.
Nonetheless, if you like action movies, I would recommend this film, especially if you are a Ford fan.
Furthermore, the performance of Glenn Close as the Vice President is fine indeed. Her grace under fire and loyalty to Marshall provide a role model for today’s woman.
The flick is almost too long and the last scene is absolutely unbelievable.
I’m sure you can figure out how it ends. Still, if you want to be bounced around by intractable action and an equally unreleanting sound track, “Air Force One” is for you.
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