Air Force One

In 1988, “Die Hard” changed action movies forever. Its high concept described in one question. What if the hero squares off against deadly foes set in a single location? As a result of Die Hard earning critical and commercial success, movie studios attempt to capitalize on the film’s unique premise, but with its own take set in a single location. Think of it as “Mad Libs: Die Hard Edition.”

• Home Alone (House)
• Under Siege (Battleship)
• Cliffhanger (Mountain)
• Airheads (Radio Station)
• Crimson Tide (Submarine)
• Speed (Bus)
• Sudden Death (Hockey Arena)
• Executive Decision (Plane)
• Daylight (Tunnel)
• The Rock (Alcatraz)
• Con Air (Plane)

It became a trend in the 1990s. One particular action movie from the decade stars Harrison Ford as a U.S. President who must use his military experience to save his family and passengers from Russian terrorists led by Gary Oldman. The premise I’m referring to is none other than “Air Force One.” Released in 1997, (same year Men in Black came out) it received good reviews and was a box office success.

There are two reasons why I’m reviewing Air Force One.

1. Harrison Ford will play Thunderbolt Ross/Red Hulk in “Captain America: Brave New World set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe or MCU for short. The second time he’ll play a U.S. President. It’ll be released on Valentine’s Day.
2. President’s Day is around February. Exactly three days after Valentine’s Day.

This review contains no SPOILERS whatsoever.

Ascend & Descend Aspects

Ascend: Harrison Ford, Gary Oldman, Glenn Close, Wendy Crewson & William H. Macy all did a great job for their respective performances.

Wolfgang Petersen (The Perfect Storm, Troy, Posiden) did a solid job directing.

Action Sequences are decent. President Jame Marshall goes John McClane on terrorists.

Jerry Goldsmith (Alien, Rambo series, Total Recall 1990) orchestrated the soundtrack.

Cinematography was shot carefully without suffering from technical problems.

Pacing didn’t take too long. It takes less than 20 minutes for everybody to board the titular plane.

• Fun Fact 1: Elya Baskin (Mr. Ditkovich from Spider-Man 2) plays one of the henchmen.
• Fun Fact 2: The late Philip Baker Hall (game show host from Magnolia) plays an attorney general.
• Fun Fact 3: Gary Oldman later played a Russian villain named, Viktor Reznov from “Call of Duty: Black Ops.”
• Fun Fact 4: Air Force One is the second movie to take place on a plane in 1997. “Con Air” ring any bells?

Marshall delivers one of the best pre-kill one-liners in movie history. “Get off my plane!” I hope Mr. Ford delivers it again as Red Hulk.

Egor’s a cross between Mr. Oldman’s character, Norman Stansfield from “Leon: The Professional” & Alec Trevelyan from “Goldeneye.” Egor retains Norman’s psychotic personality. Plus, his scheme’s kinda similar to Alec.

An escape pod is shown. Back in 1997, George Lucas re-released “The Star Wars Original Trilogy” while working on “The Phantom Menace.”

If you have a DVD/Blu-Ray copy, Wolfgang Petersen provides audio commentary reflecting his thoughts on making the movie.

Descend: Visual Effects look fake. Especially a few people in parachutes.

The movie’s a tad dated. There’s a fax machine and a satellite phone built like a block. It was the ’90s.

The Final Verdict: B, FOR BIGGER AND BETTER!

Air Force One is a solid action thriller worth your spare time. If you’re gearing for Captain America: Brave New World, give this one a try.