Air Force One

Directed by Wolfgang Petersen, Air Force One details the violence and chaos that ensues after a group of communist radicals, led by Gary Oldman’s Ivan Korshunov, take the President (Harrison Ford’s James Marshall) hostage aboard the title aircraft. It’s a wildly over-the-top premise that’s employed to entertaining, sporadically enthralling effect by Petersen, as the filmmaker, working from Andrew W. Marlowe’s screenplay, delivers an appreciatively broad thriller that’s been jam-packed with exciting sequences and interludes – with the movie’s midsection, devoted to Marshall’s Die Hard-esque exploits in the belly of the plane, certainly as captivating and engaging as one might’ve hoped. (It’s impossible not to get a kick out of, for example, the scene in which Ford’s President of the United States beats a low-level goon with a stool.) The picture’s persistently watchable atmosphere is undoubtedly heightened by the top-to-bottom stellar performances, with Ford’s typically commanding work as the hero matched by a flawless roster of periphery players. (Oldman’s mustache-twirling turn is a highlight, to be sure, while Glenn Close, cast as the Vice President, makes an impressively strong impression in a comparatively small role.) The engrossing vibe persists right up until the protracted third act rolls around, and it’s clear, ultimately, that Air Force One should (and could) have concluded about a half hour earlier – which does, in the end, confirm the film’s place as a solid actioner that overstays its welcome by just a little bit.

*** out of ****

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