Rating: 8.5/10
Review date: May 8, 2002
As suggested by the title, this movie mostly takes place on board Air Force One, the airplane that US presidents use to travel. As also typical of action movies, Air Force One�s storyline revolves around the hijacking of an airplane, although it�s a very important one this time.
A group of terrorists managed to hijack the Air Force One which carries the First Family as well as some other high-ranking senior officials. Lots of action and tense moments follows�
Harrison Ford totally convinced me in his role as President James Marshall here. From the beginning of the movie to the end, never once I doubt that he knows what he is doing or that he is just an actor posing just a president in a movie. His performance really blows me away; I wonder whether he would run for the presidency someday when he is sick of acting.
Glenn Close was also very convincing as Vice-president Katherine Bennett who doesn�t really know what action to take in a moment of crisis, especially when pressured by the terrorists and the cabinet members. The rest of the cast were alright with the notable appearance of Gray Oldman as Igor Korshunov, the terrorist leader. He fits his role really well and his dialogues are also very matching.
Praise should go to director Wolfgang Petersen for pulling off such a good introduction and a �double-ending� in this movie. The movie starts of at a fast pace then it slows down considerably for quite sometimes before picking up again with endless actions and gripping suspenseful moments until the end. But just as you thought the movie was going to end, Petersen managed to throw one last scene involving fighter jets (which is very tense) to extend the movie a little bit more.
I find myself clapping when the ending begins to roll, simply because of the great ending after all the nasty ordeal with the terrorists but partly also due to the rather patriotic score that Petersen had been peppering the movie with.
Why did I give this movie a nine you ask? Let me tell you why� I just seen this movie for the 4th time today and guess what? I still love it as much as I do when I watched it the first time.
Anyway, action movie lovers would love this movie really much and it�s highly recommended for them. For anyone who is looking for general entertainment, I�m sure Harrison Ford�s acting and the other aspects of the movie will be enough to keep you glued to your seats.
Memorable quote: �I am the President of the United States��
-Harrison Ford as President James Marshall-
(c) 2002 Martin Taidy