Air Force One

Following a passionate speech in which he takes a hard-line stance against terrorism, President James Marshall (Ford), together with his wife and their 12-year-old daughter, board the so-called jet to return to the States from Moscow. Mid-flight, however, the plane is taken hostage by an extremist Soviet faction, led by the bearded baddie Kurshunov (Oldman).

The group’s demands are clear-cut and brutal: the release of their imprisoned leader General Radek (Jurgen Prochnow) or they will kill a passenger every half an hour.

In the uproar, Marshall eludes the hijackers, fakes an escape in an emergency pod and begins to wage a one man guerrilla war to gain control of the plane. Be it handling difficult dilemmas or squaring up to monstrous evil, no one can beat Ford in the action stakes. Air Force One benefits much from the great casting: Oldman brings a genuine chill to his hardened, intelligent terrorist, compared to his less serious turn in The Fifth Element. Close plays the Vice-President and adds to the intensity of the film, even though her part is small.

Air Force One isn’t perfect, there are parts where you could say “this is totally unbelieveable”, but this is an action film not a docudrama. Air Force One is a brilliant American action flick, if you enjoyed films like Mission Impossible, ID4 and Speed, then you’ll enjoy this one. - Air Force One is a film with great acting and extravagant stunts.

Tom Kenny