An Action movie is made to entertain, and should always be taken at face value. With this in mind Air Force One hits the mark, despite some minor flaws it still delivers tension, drama and action in abundance.

The cast is strong and full of believable characters, the story is compelling and the traditional dose of sentiment is added sparingly and to good effect. Harrison Ford and Gary Oldman both put in solid performances and they are well supported by the likes of Glenn Close and Wendy Crewson.

Overall Air Force One is an safe bet for the average movie fan and should entertain most, without ever really excelling.

7/10

AIR FORCE ONE is one of the last wave of 'DIE HARD IN A...' Hollywood flicks inspired by the Bruce Willis blockbuster, although DIE HARD rip-offs would continue in B-movie cinema for years to come (and are still being made, in fact). This film has Harrison Ford's everyman US president tackling a gang of murderous Russian terrorists who have stormed Air Force One and are willing to sacrifice the hostages for their political ends. The film is dated and more than a little cheesy in some of the sentimental scenes (the black woman on the parachute is one of the most unintentionally hilarious scenes you'll find here) and the CGI effects haven't dated too well either. Otherwise, I really enjoyed it. Wolfgang Petersen brings some of the same claustrophobia as he mined in DAS BOOT and even manages to fit Jurgen Prochnow into a little role. Ford and Michael Douglas were my favourite Hollywood thriller stars of the 1980s and 1990s and Ford does well here as the tough yet believable character. There's plenty of suspense and action throughout and the latter scenes are well staged and exciting. Gary Oldman reprises his volatile villain role from LEON to strong effect and as a whole this is an entertaining package where you can just switch off and enjoy.

President James Marshall (Harrison Ford) is a no non-sense leader who just gave a zero tolerance on terrorism speech. Ironically, terrorists hijackers take over Air Force One. Ivan Korshunov (Gary Oldman) the leader of the terrorists is a Russian nationalist looking to free General Radek (Jürgen Prochnow) and replace the Russian government.

Wolfgang Petersen directs this action movie. Forget about any realism problems, this is strictly a popcorn movie. There is no need to turn on your brain. Harrison Ford is a credible president, and more importantly, he is a credible action hero. The vice president (Glenn Close) is running things from the White House.

There is just too much talking, negotiating, and too much international politics seriousness. At over 2 hours, there are too many slow parts. And the ending has way too many climaxes. They should think about who needs to be killed last. They should kill the big bad last because that should be the one big climax.