Air Force One (R)

Since high action films tend to be of lackluster depth and quality, a formula with specific components is required to maintain a solid story and an ability to keep you watching from start to finish. Action films need to have three things in order to scratch the surface of being good; a likeable and somewhat unexpected hero, a unique premise/setting/backdrop, and most important – a truly despicable villain operating with a plausible endgame. The ‘90s saw several successful highly packed action movies that harnessed these three vital ingredients such as “Speed,” “Con Air,” or “Under Siege.” One such gem is the 1997 high altitude thriller “Air Force One”

The hero of the story comes in the unlikely form of the President of the United States. Never before has the role of Commander and Chief been placed in a role of physical combat in such a way as in “Air Force One” and it is done in a believable and well explained way to keep the viewer from rolling their eyes as they would should they envision Barrack Obama punching a bad guy or firing a machine gun. The role of President James Marshall is brought to life by superstar Harrison Ford – himself no stranger to action films of the ‘90s (“Clear and Present Danger,” “Patriot Games,” “The Fugitive“). Actually, Ford has been a dominant figure in action roles going back decades before when he dazzled audiences with legendary swashbuckler characters Han Solo and Indiana Jones. Ford has a certain cache and dominance on screen that few other actors have. Opposing President Marshall is the dynamic Gary Oldman who employs a perfect blend of disdain and ruthlessness as the primary antagonist in the story. Not only is Oldman’s character truly wicked, he has a logical scheme in mind and isn’t just evil for the sake of being a bad guy. As he reminds at one point during the story: “What arrogance to think you could ever understand my intentions.”

In an eerie pre-9/11 speech, President James Marshall (Ford) vows that his administration will take a firmer stance against despotism and that they will never negotiate with terrorists. The speech comes three weeks after a joint American/Russian military operation that succeeded in capturing General Ivan Radek (Jürgen Prochnow), the vile dictator of a rogue terrorist regime in Kazakhstan that had taken possession of former Soviet nuclear weapons.

Heading back to Washington from Moscow, Marshal boards the prestigious Air Force One with his wife Grace (Wendy Crewson), daughter Alice (Liesel Matthews) and several hundred others such as advisors, cabinet members, secret service, and journalists. A Russian TV crew lead by Ivan Korshunov (Gary Oldman) also boards the plane though it is quickly discovered they are imposters. In reality, Ivan and his crew are Radek loyalists and the unique setting for the story unravels as the terrorists do the unthinkable; in one of the most exciting and death-defying sequences ever they hijack Air Force One with the demands that Radek be released and returned to power.

The story plays out on two fronts – Marshall hiding in the bowels of plane as he begins to combat the terrorists to rescue his family and the political scuttlebutt back in DC as Vice President Kathryn Bennett (Glenn Close) must decide what course of action to take in regards to the terrorists demands as she locks horns with other political staff like the Attorney General (Philip Baker Hall) and Defense Secretary (Dean Stockwell) who brings a perfect drop of humor to the tension – after the hijacking Stockwell’s character asks for a list of educated guesses as to where the terrorists may be going. When an associate rattles off several locations he quickly shoots them down with “Well, those are guesses…I don’t know if they’re educated.”

Two other perfectly cast roles belong to Xander Berkeley as a rogue secret service agent and William H. Macy as one of Marshall’s most loyal advisers. Anyone watching can quickly see the influence “Air Force One” would go on to have on the hit TV show “24” as the action cuts back and forth from the gripping terror on board the plane to the pencil pushers back in DC.

My biggest complaints for “Air Force One” are the length – though only 2 hours the last scene which runs about 20 minutes seems to be in excess and the over-the-top patriotism can be a bit much to swallow. All in all, “Air Force One” is a solid action story from a decade that mastered the genre.