(Harry Ford goes all Executive Office on us…)
CAST: Harrison Ford, Gary Oldman, Glenn Close, Wendy Crewson, Liesel Matthews, Paul Guilfoyle, William H. Macy, Donna Bullock, Xander Berkeley, Dean Stockwell.
DIRECTOR: Wolfgang Petersen
WARNING: Some SPOILERS and one kick-ass American Prez - straight ahead…
IT’S LIKE THIS: President of the US of A James Marshall (Harrison Ford) lays down the gauntlet during a visit to Moscow: America will no longer negotiate with terrorists. Um, sorry, but did we ever negotiate with them? Whatever. Anyhow, Jimmy boy’s hard-ass policy is soon put to the test when Russian nutjob Ivan Korshunov (Gary Oldman) and his band of fellow wackos con their way onto Air Force One pretending to be journalists - and take the plane hostage. Now it’s up to Marshall to, uh, marshal his courage and strength to plan a counter-attack from the bowels of the aircraft - and rescue not only his wife (Wendy Crewson) and daughter (Liesel Matthews), but also his staff. Meanwhile, Vice President Kathryn Bennett (Glenn Close) is at mission control in the White House, trying to keep a handle on the situation, while asshole Secretary of Defense Walter Dean (Dean Stockwell), does his best to cockblock her at every opportunity. Not literally, you understand. At least I hope not. Because that would be… hilarious.
THE DUDE (OR DUDETTE) MOST LIKELY TO SAVE THE DAY: James Marshall, all the way. I guess it helps when the President was also a Green Beret or some shit…
EYE CANDY MOST LIKELY TO FIRE UP A WOODY: Sorry, but Harrison Ford looks far too much like several male relatives for me to even look upon him as anyone other than the guy I used to have arguments with about taking out the trash when I was growing up (AKA Dad). Glenn Close and Wendy Crewson are very pretty, on the other hand. And William H. Macy makes the heroic and brave staffer Major Caldwell seem a lot sexier than everyone around him because he’s so, um, heroic and brave.
MOST INTENTIONALLY EXCITING SCENE: Marshall and Ivan’s final battle in the ass-end of the plane, where Jimmy shows Ivan that heroes are made in America! Bye-bye, Russkie…
MOST UNINTENTIONALLY EXCITING SCENE: First daughter Alice telling Ivan what a fucking dumbass he is in comparison to her father. Go, girl!
HOTTEST SCENE: Anytime Major Caldwell is onscreen. Love that guy…
INQUIRING MINDS WANT TO KNOW: Will President Marshall save Air Force One? Or will Ivan kill all his hostages instead? Will Vice President Bennett break down and negotiate with the terrorists despite the Prez’s new policy not to? Will Defense Secretary Dean try to override her authority? And the biggest question of all (as Bennett herself asks): “HOW IN THE FUCKING GODDAMN BITCH-SLAPPING HELL DID THEY TAKE OVER AIR FORCE ONE? FUUUUUCK!!!!!” Well, something like that, anyway….
WHY YOU SHOULD WATCH “AIR FORE ONE”: If you loved DIE HARD and like to watch similar films about locations taken over by terrorists - with a lone, isolated hero the only hope for saving the day. And also if you are a Harrison Ford fan. If so, knock yourself out.
WHY YOU MAY NOT ENJOY “AIR FORCE ONE”: If you didn’t care for DIE HARD and avoid similar films. If so, watch the Weather Channel instead.
BUT, SERIOUSLY: In 1988, DIE HARD was released and changed the Action Movie landscape. It did this in several ways: (1) confining the action to a single setting; (2) limiting the time of the story to one night or a single day; (3) having the hero be alone and isolated; and (4) forcing him/her to rely just as much on wiles and wits as muscle and strength. With DIE HARDS’s great success, similar films soon began filling studios’ production slates: PASSENGER 57, UNDER SIEGE, SUDDEN DEATH, SPEED, SPEED 2, and DIE HARD 2, just to name a few.
AIR FORCE ONE is another such film. In addition to DIE HARD’s sequel, it is one of the better entries into this action sub-genre. The cast, led by the charismatic Harrison Ford, is top-notch. This role was initially Kevin Costner’s, but he reportedly had to step down when production on THE POSTMAN, which he was directing as well as starring in, got complicated. I heard he personally asked Harrison Ford to take the role. Good call. Ford owes Costner for this. The role of James Marshall is a great showcase for Ford’s strengths as an actor and the qualities he best projects: tough sincerity, wily resourcefulness, and stubborn vulnerability. Ford holds the film on his shoulders very easily.
Gary Oldman is okay as the villain, and he does a good job of projecting steely menace. While he does get a little broad with his Russian accent in places, he is still a solid baddie. I’m also thankful he didn’t try to mimic the suave, urbanely smooth villain of DIE HARD, Hans Gruber played by the terrific Alan Rickman. Too many action films have made this mistake since DIE HARD’s success, and it is no longer fresh. Ivan Korshnukov, by contrast, is a villain with more sharp edges than smooth ones, and Oldman doesn’t shy away from playing him that way.
Glenn Close is a nice human presence as Vice President Kathryn Bennett, and I’m glad the writers of AIR FORCE ONE chose to make the character female - instead of male, which would’ve made the only major female characters the First Lady and Daughter. This movie was made back in 1997, and it’s nice to know that the people behind the script were forward-thinking to a certain degree. The great thing about Close’s performance is the character never turns into the “Strong Woman Stereotype”, which is a ball-busting bitch. While Kathryn barks orders left and right, Close also limns her with humanity and softness. Watch for the scene when Ivan tells Kathryn and her staff by phone that he has just killed the National Security Advisor on Air Force One. Close allows Kathryn to shed a single tear. That’s a nice touch. I remember an acquaintance watching that scene and saying that a male VP wouldn’t have cried. My response: “Are you sure about that?” Kathryn Bennett’s response was a human reaction to something terrible - not a female one.
As for the rest of the cast, they are all sharp and vivid. Wendy Crewson and Liesel Matthews are perfect as the First Lady and First Daughter. Both of them make their roles a good combo of fiery and fragile. Crewson has a nice way of being authoritative and gentle at the same time, while Matthews gives Alice some necessary gravitas - especially in her scene with Ivan. Another standout is William H. Macy as the heroic Major Caldwell. This was an early role for Macy, and it clearly hints at his future as a quirky and magnetic character actor. Major Caldwell is initially just in the background, but as the chips continue to fall and the situation gets more dire, he comes to foreground to give a solid assist to the President. Great job from Macy, who makes the most of the role.
The action in AIR FORCE ONE is as good as can be expected given its confined location. If I have any quibbles with the film, it’s just a couple: (1) the final plane-to-plane transfer scene is a bit anti-climactic for my tastes and goes longer than it needs to be - especially considering the main villain is already dead; and (2) it’s easier to remind yourself that this is just a movie because, well, it’s about Air Force One being hijacked - and the hero is the American President, which is a marked departure from the everyman character of John McClane (Bruce Willis) in DIE HARD.
But those are minor nit-noids in comparison to the film’s strengths. It’s an epic, entertaining action/thriller that isn’t afraid to think big - but also remembers how to keep its feet on the ground by keeping its characters recognizably human. A very good film...
