Air force one---a classic in my book! - Air Force One Reviews

From beginning to end, Air Force One is a relentlessly gripping thrill ride, cumulating suspense with one superbly taut sequence after another. You can chalk this one up as another success for superstar Harrison Ford and director Wolfgang Peterson, who's consistently been one of the better action filmmakers around. Ford stars as James Marshall, the president of the United States. He and his cabinet have just recently made the crucial decision to go after a renegade general named Radek, who threatens to bring back a state of communism to Russia. The mission to capture him is a success, but not long after Marshall and his family board Air Force One on a flight back to the U.S., Russian terrorists posing as news reporters hijack the flight, complete with machine guns and heavy weaponry. Their demands: to have Radek released or else a hostage (50 total) will be executed every half-hour. But in their midst is Marshall, who remains hidden in the cargo bay, ready to take back the plane and save his family. Air Force One never fails to work as a nail-biting actioner. There's also the sense of iminent danger and gutsy unpredictability that director Peterson infuses the film with. Hostages are killed every half-hour, and perhaps even those you expect to live through the situation are killed off pretty quickly; these terrorists are not the slightest bit unflinching or unwavering, making them effective (if not also one-dimensional) villains. I've heard a lot of complaints about the seemingly never-ending conclusion, but for me, it just made the film that much more an unpredictable roller coaster ride, with one edge-of-the-seat cliffhanger after another. The action sequences are the "requisite" shootouts and fistfights, but are truly exciting, and the fact that this is all set on board the world's most famous aircraft adds frantic urgency to the proceedings. There are also a lot of fantastic stunts, the most thrilling one featuring Ford dangling in mid-air, being reeled inside an aircraft with a cable and strap. Harrison Ford has one of the most commanding presences of any Hollywood actor, and Air Force One is almost entirely his show. James Marshall may be too "perfect" for a politician, but this is a red-blooded action flick, and I want a hero Gary Oldman's the villian, and in true Oldman style, you can expect lots of hollering in a somewhat unintelligible accent (which honestly doesn't sound particularly Russian, as it's meant to). Jerry Goldsmith's score is excellent, giving the film additional intensity, and even revving up excitement during the quieter moments. The main theme is a bit overly patriotic, but undeniably rousing. Hard to say, but this is probably the famed composer's best score since Rudy. Aside from the logical flaws in the story, the only time the film really stumbles is in the visual effects category. Don't get me wrong, most of the CGI is superb, but the scene near the end that boasts probably the most hilariously unconvincing (and disappointing) CGI-rendered shot I've ever seen in a big-studio production. Air Force One may be a little silly and implausible, but it's irony-absent presentation is refreshing in a time when just about every other film out there is trying to be as annoyingly sarcastic as possible. In this era of Die-Hard rip-offs, Air Force One is easily one of the best, and for my money, it's more entertaining than the original Die Hard itself.