Is anyone else tired of election season? We still have 2 months to go, and it is just so exhausting. So, today I feel like watching the “ra, ra Am-er-ica” centric action film “Air Force One”. Made in 1997, this is pre-“War on Terror”, but a lot of the plot is somewhat in that arena, where Medal of Honor winner President Harrison Ford basically declares Russian/Eastern European terrorism as the biggest global threat (post-Cold War but Pre-9/11 America had some unique plots).
Anyway, I saw this one for the first time not too long ago. It definitely has some “Die Hard” and “Speed” worked into its DNA, but it is plenty fun on its own. I don’t remember a lot of the plot, only that it was pretty enjoyable and I recommended it to a few people in the weeks after. Here is the trailer, and I will get back to you after I watch the film.
U.S.A.! U.S.A.! U.S.A.! My god, this movie is so much fun.
Harrison Ford plays the President of the United States, Medal Of Honor winner and all-around bad-ass. Basically, he is John McClane as President, and Air Force One is Nakatomi Plaza. Honestly, 90’s Harrison Ford might be my favorite version of the man. If it wasn’t for Indiana Jones, it wouldn’t even be a debate. The guy is magnetic in this movie, and somehow makes the fact that he could be both President and an action hero somewhat believable. Driven by a sense of honor, justice, and love of family, he plays a presidential character that we all want to be in charge of the country.
Next, what would Die Hard be without Alan Rickman? In this movie, the bad guy is played by Gary Oldman, and he is nearly unrecognizable (as always) as he plays a Russian terrorist with loyalties to a dangerous and disgraced former dictator of Kazakhstan. He manages to take over Air Force One, and his character definitely is frightening. Gary Oldman is great in everything; even in a horrible movie, you gotta give the guy credit for owning the role and taking it to the next level. He is fantastic here.
The rest of the cast is essentially a bunch of “those guys”. The characters you see in movies, but you never really see them be a leading star in anything. They are all fine, basically playing background characters to both Ford and Oldman, who own the screen whenever either of them are on camera. For what this movie was, the casting was done well. Nobody (even the leads) should be considered for awards, as this is a dumb action movie, but it definitely works in context.
When the plane gets taken hostage, Harrison Ford manages to get to the Presidential escape pod ejected so the terrorists think he escaped. But, lo-and-behold, the Commander-in-Chief stuck around to save his wife, daughter, and all of his staff. Its like they wrote a movie about a hero secret service agent, then decided that Harrison Ford was too cool to NOT play the President. But he also is a bad-ass, so he fought with the director to get all the action scenes. At that point, they just decided “screw it, lets lose the secret service and just make him the hero”. The result is ludicrously entertaining. I might write in Harrison Ford’s name on November 2nd for funzies.
At one point, Harrison Ford orders Air Force pilots to shoot at Air Force One so that the terrorist who has a gun to his head will lose his balance. Its a completely contrived scene, and its completely impractical… but it makes a big boom and allows for some fisticuffs, so let’s give it a passing grade. This scene alone is enough of an example for me to show that you shouldn’t think about the practicality of any of this movie; its fun to watch, and thats what it is meant to be.
All I have to say is “watch this movie”. It doesn’t have the cache of Die Hard, the flash of Mission Impossible, or the gore/violence of Rambo, but it is an enjoyable amalgamation of all three. I recommend this as one of those movies you can watch with your dad and/or a group of your buddies. Crack open a couple of beers, order a pizza, talk through the movie and yell at the screen… This is a great movie if you just want to have a good time.
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