Movies-TV

I don't like action movies, but. . .

. . .I liked this one. Of course this is the president we'd all like to have, a loving father, a stunning fighter, and great one-liners for any life threatening situation. This movie was suspense from beginning to the end, and chances are you already know that, cause who likes action has seen this film.

Disaster movie no 1

This can't be meant as entertainment for any thinking creature. This has got to be a collection of clippings removed from other movies.
This is prostitution of the movie industry. How can anyone in their right mind read the script and accept to board this disaster movie.I have serious doubts of the future of man kind after this.All right - Dante's Peak, Volcano, Twister and Earthquake was worse, but that's about it. Great films are made in Italy and France.

May be great on DVD, but the movie itself stunk.

If you are looking for a DVD movie with great sound, then this is one of them. If you are looking for a great movie as well as great sound, get something else. Harrison Ford is my favorite actor and I looked forward with great anticipation to seeing it for the first time. But WOW, was I disappointed. I tried to use my imagination during this ridiculous movie, but I was too busy constantly saying "Awww, come on...", "No way...", or "Gimmie a break!" Harrison Ford was pretty good, but Glenn Close and Dean Stockwell give miserable performances. I even gave it a fair, second chance and was equally disgusted as the first time. This may be one of the most unrealistic blockbuster movies of all time. The only reason I gave it 3 stars is because of the sound, otherwise I give it 2 stars.

I think we should rename it to "America is the best!"

It just makes me sick of watching Americans portray themselves as the piece-keeping, humane, over-reasonable and heroic nation. This time the Russians are the bad, bad guys again. What's new, huh! Anyway, the Russians are crazy, communist, "Mother-Russia" patriots and by the way I should kill the guy that wrong this word in the script that Gary Oldman pronounces in the movie with a rough, sadistic= Russian voice, right? So, Air Force One is the American presidents airplane that gets hijacked by Russians and the cool, heroic, steel-ball American, being a president, of course kills all terrorists. This happens since, you know, they are Russian and bad. What's new, Uncle Sam?

Brilliantly done action

It's easy to understand why Airforce One was such a big hit. The President saves the country. America has an honorable man as their leader and he's saving them from those no good filthy Reds again. Audiences walked out with pride in their hearts (fuelled by Jerry Goldsmith's rousing score) and they forgot about the LewinskyGate scandal that was going down with the REAL President.But the film is very good in it's own right too. Wolfgang Peterson creates a heavy feeling of tension, Ford a likable hero and Oldman a hissable villain who was actually quite scary. The film is also very well put together technically. The editing and sound is top-notch.But there are flaws. And one BIG flaw. Some of the dialogue really sucks. And Wendy Crewson is VERY bad as the First Lady. The only reason her character is even in it is because every President has a First Lady. Her role is totally useless. I predicted her EVERY line of dialogue before she even said it. I am not kidding. Even Oldman at one point tells her to 'SHUT UP!' I never thought I would find myself agreeing with a Russian terrorist but now I have.If you can overlook this minor, although highly irritating, glitch you will totally enjoy a high-octane action film with many, increasingly exciting, set-pieces. Very cool.

Kick butt - USA!

This is definitely one of the good ol' us vs. them - good vs. evil story. Harrison Ford plays a different kind of US President (one that I would like to see in "real" life), a President that takes matters into his own hands and deals his own "justice" by kicking some serious ... and shooting the heck out of everything. Good action movie, great for a 4th of July party...

WARNING: SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS

WARNING: THIS COMMENT CONTAINS SPOILERS. That said, I would like to comment on the movie. Despite its propaganda, its EXTREME unoriginality, as well as its predictable plot, the movie is entertaining, and a good killer of 2 hours.We have seen enough Die Hard rip-offs since 1988. This movie does nothing less than take the plot as well as elements from that movie. For example, the ending: In Die Hard, Gruber (our villain) had Holly (our hero's wife) at the edge of the building and was going to do something. McClane (our hero) somehow kills Gruber and rescues his wife. In AFO, Gary Oldman (our villain) had Wendy (hero's wife) at the parachute ramp at the rear of the plane. Marshall (our hero) kills Oldman and rescues his wife in almost the same fashion as in Die Hard. AFO included the taking of a hostage by the "bad guys" and using him or her to get the unknown hero to show himself. Like we haven't seen that before. Then you can expect the hero, which for some strange reason happens to be the President of the United States (what the hell?), to make everything turn out fine in the end.Also, this movie makes the "terrorists" look bad, yet I was rooting for them throughout the movie. It's strange how when a non-American sacrifices the security of civilians to achieve certain aims he is labeled a "terrorist," yet an American who does the same thing is a "hero." This movie is chock-full of that kind of propaganda. Don't expect the President to ever get seriously injured, either, because he's the President of the United States. Oh, and make sure to keep your brain in a safe place other than your head, because you won't be needing it for the duration of this movie.Don't expect any plot twists. That traitor guy (I didn't bother remembering his name) should've been kept secret until the end in order to add some suspense. But nooooo, they *had* to show him doing his dirty work so we can all know who the mastermind behind the hijacking is, thereby ruining the whole element of surprise for us.(By the way, I told you there would be a lot of spoilers. If you find yourself reading this, and you are about to kill me because I ruined the movie, too bad. I warned you.)How could the White House secretary not recognize the President's voice? When Marshall was calling for some Russian guy to come down and get the body, why didn't the Russian guy recognize that this was not an authentic Russian accent? There are too many flaws with this movie that I cannot list them here.In short- don't get me wrong, this movie is worth a rental. But only if you can't find anything else, and you are EXTREMELY bored. DON'T bother buying this movie, though.

Too much like Bush. Not enough like Clinton.

Nowadays, Hollywood just wouldn't have the balls to make a film that spits in the face of terrorism, unless it was an easy target that doesn't spit back (aka, America and it's 1st Amendment). This film harkens back to the day when people wished our country's foreign policy was a bit more leathery. Well...ya got it now! At the very least, a film like this would piss off the surrender-monkeys in the jackass party, not only for what they would see as a glorification of nationalistic jingoism, but for the villification and slaughter of Stalinistic, Castro-like communists that they would only want to capitulate and make peace with. Makes one wonder if the lefty Glenn Close now hates herself for acting in such a film. What would they say to a film like this? Unfortunately, there's plenty of room for criticism in this movie, aside from the political implications therein. Some (arguably, if not all) of the special effects seemed a bit hokey (hence the 4 stars instead of the five). I think if anyone wanted to be bipartisan about anything, it would have to be the 90's style CGI, especially the plane crash. At best, one might go so far as to say it was "cute." And what can a guy like me say to that? Even as I write this review, scarcely 2 days have past from the red letter day in the struggle against terrorism, in which the ruthless terrorist leader of al Qaida in Iraq, al-Zarqawi, caught himself a couple of 500 lb. bombs with the use of his house. For those who want to keep westerners depressed and demoralized (not a far stretch from "fear-mongering," right?) in the fight against terrorism, this deals a disappointing blow to those who hate America. What's worse, they can't seem to ban a film exalting American nationalism such as "Air Force One" from those who wish to see it (oh no!). And just 2 years ago the same whiners were bitching about "The Passion." Sucks to have the 1st amendment apply to every American and not just the idealistic "intellectual" few, doesn't it?

The Ultimate Airplane Hijacking - Winner Takes All

I was completely glued to my seat from beginning to end: this film was nonstop action, suspense and drama. While admittedly *today* in real life there would be intense security to prevent this from happening, it seems a highly plausible plot for a film, especially in 1997 when it was made. The world sat in disbelief when it was announced at a TV press conference that Kazakhstan terrorists hold the U.S. President James Marshall, delegates, and various family members as hostages up on Air Force One not long after boarding the plane in Russsia. Communications between Glenn Close, the U.S. Vice President, a prisoner on Air Force One and the U.S. Press Secretary in Washington confirmed their status ...

Harrison Ford plays the U.S. President with fearlessness and cunning. He also demonstrates superb hand-to-hand fighting skills plus superior technical expertise with a gun. He becomes the hero who manages to elude the terrorists when he remains one level below, as they overtake the pilot and copilot. He creates diversions and thwarts their various plans, all the while evading detection. Initially, they are unaware whom they are fighting. Once Ivan Korshunov, the leader, realizes it is the President of the United States who nearly single-handedly prevents them from achieving their goals, the terrorist becomes more vicious. He threatens the wife of the President at gun point and turns on the loudspeaker so the President can listen as she voices her fears. This enrages the President who takes even more serious measures to save their lives: he dumps fuel to force them to stop. The fighting scenes are unparalleled yet eventually Harrison Ford is captured. The capture of the President forces the United States to negotiate with the terrorists, despite their policy against doing so. The terrorists want the release of General Alexander Radek, the former ruler of Kazakhstan ...


The rescue of the President, delegates and their families is breath-taking. Fortunately, some manage to jump with parachutes but there are not enough and time is running out ... Air Force One does not have the ability to land. There is a daring awe-inspiring rescue up in the air at 15,000 feet. General Alexander Radek is released from his prison cell, dressed in his well-decorated uniform as he walks across the prison courtyard ... and in the end, justice prevails. Viewing this film sends chills up and down one's spine because despite the many aspects of the film that are exaggerated - terrorism is one area that *thankfully* is *not* depicted in its true scope given what we know of the events of 9-1-1 and current Iraqi War. Erika Borsos (erikab93)

they should put this movie under comedy genre

The plot made me laugh. The one man "action" show of US president that save, not only US but also Russia. Where on earth can someone think that kind of plot. Very very funny. And I like to emphasize the act of Harrison Ford. No matter what role he is playing, I alway see the old same boring act. I particularly don't like when he jump to other person in order to fight. You always find this in every of his action movies.

God Bless America - You'll Need Him!

Harrison Ford as the President? Ha ha ha. Harrison Ford as the President with an uzi? HA HA H HA! I like mindless American action movies but this is a new genre and I like it even more: the Action Movie of the Absurd, so shockingly implausible and bad that it entertains. How Gary Oldman kept a straight face whilst contorting his 'somewhere in Europe' accent I don't know, but uninformed xenophobia is the least of this film's 'ironic' assets. Two-dimensional characters, witless dialogue, ludicrous action sequences - it has it all. Harrison Ford, you need to have words with your agent. What happened to being a serious actor?Bit worrying to see other reviewers suggest this is actually a good film - are they on medication?

Han Solo returns in a modern day escapade.

Harrison Ford, the President plays a part not dissimilar to Han Solo (Star Wars) A swash buckling man facing death at each turn.However it happens aboard Air Force One.A tight, suspense full drama, similar to The Hunt For Red October. This time though it is not a cop, or a CIA agent. No This time it is the President himself who has to save the day.Spectacular effects only help in this film to display the real life drama that unfolds before you.Watch it and think before climbing aboard a 747.

wonderful stuff

The plot is simple, the president and the whole crew aboard Air Force One have been taken hostage by Russian terrorists. The president has just been proclaiming how he will not succumb to terrorists but is he still that self-assured when it's his wife's and daughters lives that are in danger? This movie oozes of testosterone which is great news for the ladies. With both heroic Harrison and wonderful sexy (baddie) Gary it just doesn't get better. The acting from these two is mesmerizing, for once there is a complex character behind the "baddie" and the hero (who better than Harrison?) shows vulnerability which makes the character much more real and engaging. Especially the scenes of those two together are excellent and (may I add) very sexy! The plot is a tad unrealistic and tiny bit too "American" but this is easy to overlook as the film is engaging and thrilling. Great action scenes, I recommend it warmly. Don't expect any great intellectual challenge though- take it for what it is. An entertaining and thrilling action movie. Get the popcorn out!

Not a classic but enjoyable

Air Force One is what you would expect, a trash action-thriller which borders almost on propaganda, but that does not make it a poor film. Obviously there is a constant barrage of American patriotism (how more patriotic can you get than the American President retaking a terrorist controlled air force one), but this does not make it a film which most people would vomit over. It is rather surprisingly quite entertaining.Despite the fact that the film is 2 hours long (a time which could have been easily shortened with the cutting of a few meaningless scenes at the end) but the film doesn't let up on the action or the excitement. Predominantly the film is a) watching Gary Oldman taunt the white house or executing passengers and b) watching Harrison Ford walking around looking confused in the baggage area, however there are quite a few gun fights and up-close-and-personal fight scenes which punctuate the banter and keep the audience gripped. None of this is particularly new but nevertheless is entertaining.The acting is surprisingly adequate. Most of the characters in the film haven't got particularly challenging roles, only Gary Oldman, Glenn Close and Harrison Ford who have to stretch their ability, which the best is of course Gary Oldman who it seems has to support almost the entire film with his menacing image, which he pulls off rather well. Although his accent isn't brilliant (see 5th element) he is still by far and away the most menacing of the baddies and the most interesting character. It is particularly satisfying to see him humiliate some of the bureaucratic and arrogant politicians in the white house: "no one does this to America..." All in all Air Force One is obviously not a masterpiece and does not make any pretense to be so. What it is is a largely entertaining pretty well done action-thriller with the right amount of dialogue, action and suspense which keeps the audience thrilled.

..I liked it - but I'm laughing now..

Gee, you guys really DIDN'T like this movie, did you? I was really buzzing with it - I wasn't really familiar with the plot, so I didn't know that Harrison Ford was our feisty Prez. If you had read the "trivia", you'd know the role was written for Kevin Kostner, who - thank heavens! - was obligated for some other role. Can you see him in all that action? I suspect Ford insisted they stick to his established rep, and all that fighting was added to whatever the script said. Yeah, it could have just stated "The Prez. does a lot of fighting", and that would be just about all it needed. I would have been saying that while I was watching - I'm sure I would have had another opinion AFTER watching "Air Force One". I was so busy trying to keep-up with the action and what The Prez. was saying - does he EVER speak in normal tones? - I missed his whole speech and then switched-on the subtitles. Even though I wasn't truly understanding the plot till then, I knew it had to be something pretty serious after all that "red-dot" stuff. Clevvvvvvvver.Weren't you suspicious when the "baddies" had to be checked again before getting on the "Force" that something wasn't right about them? "Ivan" and his gang surely would be as smart as and prepared as our Secret Service guys were, don't you think? I also agree with those who mentioned "Executive Decision"'s way of getting on-and-off the plane was much cleverer (liked that movie, too). I also wondered howcome that guy who opened the door didn't sucked-away, but I was waiting with eyes open-wide to see what was coming-up next. I also spotted there was something not quite right about him, too. You know how the camera pauses on those guys and you gotta think fast.........when I REALLY started enjoying the movie was while I was reading all the stuff you guys threw at it. I mean, like those were pretty heavy weapons they were firing inside the fuselage; and, The Prez. was a pretty-good shot, because Vietnam was a pretty serious spat; do you think the REAL Air Force One has been fitted with an escape-pod?, and how quickly they were looking for it; yeah, I loved the laughing secretary, just waiting to be snatched-up; and all that political competition in DC; doesn't every one in the country know the Vice-Prez. is next in command, always ?; was so proud that Glenn Close had the gumption not to sign the petition (sweet woman!); I really was concerned for The "Prez.'s family; "my dad is a great man" gave me a twitch, then, but I really didn't know that Oldman is always the bad-guy; I was unaware his Russian-accent was so bad till you guys told me, and I agree it's time to get off that bad-mouthing the Russians (I mean, Bush and Putin are friends, aren't they?); that salute between the fighter-plane pilot and The Prez. was sharp ! "get off my plane" was something surely The Prez. would have said, huh? I saw "Firewall" first and now am pleased to see that Ford was still feisty after 1997. Lots of stuntmen, don't you think? I saw a long list.....So, now I've had a very good laugh reading your trashy comments, and must admit I STILL like the movie. No doubt, I'll watch it again and get all the guffaws in the right place, I promise. All you folk who thought it was one of the best ever, you were awfully brave - hope you have the DVD to get-in some more patriotism.I got the DVD for some PR stuff, so I'm really ahead that I got a good movie, intentionally a comedy or not. I didn't compare it to "Das Boot", even though Peterson and Marlowe got it together for a fine 2-hour watch. I'm sure all those people from foreign countries who were P.O.ed about "braggy American's" have seen some home-grown stuff they can crow about, too - if they haven't, then they should get busy. Maybe a little development of "Radek's" character could've given the Russians something to shout about - looked like a pretty nasty grunt to me.10, indeed !!! I thought the plane was gorgeous and all the other actors-actresses did a swell job. Whether you think the price to see the movie was an insult, they all made money. Give them a break! We all need an easy job some time or other....... P.S. 8/9/06:Just watched again, with subtitles: press-agent tells the Russies the fuselage is totally bullet-proof......

Very Scary Movie!

In this age of terrorism, this is an intensely scary film. Imagine Al-Quada doing what these Russian terrorists do on this plane. Harrison Ford is good in these types of films and gives a very good performance. The violence was hard to watch, but it is not difficult to imagine this kind of hatred esprecially from Islamic or other militant and closed-minded terrorist groups.


Hang on to your seats, this is a good one.

A good action-adventure film with great special effects…

Marshall is the kind of President referred to a change in the U.S. foreign policy… He took a great risk when he stated that America will no longer tolerate any terrorist government… His policy is soon put in practice when he boards his plane on his way home… Once is in the sky, 'Air Force One' is hijacked and currently controlled by Russian radicals who ask for the release of their leader or they'll execute a prisoner every half hour… Harrison Ford is the action hero making his way through the plane taking out few terrorists, managing to free several hostages, trying to get to his wife and daughter who are prisoners on board… Gary Oldman almost steals the show as the head terrorist Ivan Korshunov who takes over the president's plane…Beautifully directed by Wolfgang Petersen who controls the action with his usual extreme intelligence, building the challenge with captivating, tense sequences from every compartment of the huge aircraft to the White House contingent in Washington…

Air Force One on Superbit

I'd like to start off by saying that I haven't watched Air Force One in several years, so I've forgotten whata great film this actually is. I have had the VHS Widescreen version since 1998, but I've only watched it once since then. But fast forward to 2002 and now its on Superbit DVD. All I have to say is WOW! The picture and sound will blow you away. The sound especially if you have a 5.1 surround system. The gun fire is especially intense and well spaced in the the sound field. One of the most jaw-dropping scenes is the F-15/MiG-29 engagement at the end. Another is when Air Force One crashes into the Ocean. WOW! What a crash scene!

But another thing I'd like to point out is that it's strange now that all these films that have to do with terrorists have an all new meaning and message now in our post-9/11 world. If you'll recall, Oldman's character was a Russian nationalist who wanted a re-united Russian motherland with the President (played by Jurgen Prochnow, of Das Boot fame) of Kazakstan as the Russian Prime Minister. Except that he's a renegade that wants to use the old Russian nuclear stockpile to terrorize the free world. Oldman states how US foreign policy may be beneficial to the US, but it destroys the lives of other countries. I think he mentions something about the sanctions on Iraq causing undue suffering. So you see, these old terrorist movies should have been a bit of a wake-up call for us.

So in closing, if you're looking for a good terrorist thriller in this post-9/11 world, look no further than Air Force One on Superbit.

James Marshall is Jack Ryan

When I heard about the plot of this movie, one of the first things that came to my mind is that this movie is sort of an extension to the Jack Ryan movies. Anyone who has read EXECUTIVE ORDERS knows Jack Ryan, the most honest, caring man in America, becomes the President of the United States. And so, when I watch Harrison Ford in this movie, I see Pres. Jack Ryan in the same mold as previous movies PATRIOT GAMES and CLEAR & PRESENT DANGER, or Richard Kimble in THE FUGITIVE. The story is simple and straightforward, it doesn't have the thrills, turns and complexity of the Jack Ryan movies. A lot of artistic license was used in order for the story to run or else the terrorists in this movie can't ever pull off the hijacking in the first place. The movie is fun and good. I enjoyed the constitutional crisis going on in the White House and the dogfight was awesome. 4 of 5 stars.

I liked it!!!!!

I first saw this film on ABC, and I enjoyed it,my little sisters didnt like it very much, but I did,Great Peformance by Harrison Ford.Filled with stunts and action expacially on a plane.