Air Force One
1997
Stars: Harrison Ford, Gary Oldman, Glenn Close, Wendy Crewson, Paul Guilfoyle, William H. Macy.
Director: Wolfgang Peterson.
Plot: The story revolves around Russian terrorists hijacking Air Force One and planning on killing a hostage every half an hour until the president frees an imprisoned tyrant. Ford plays the average-Joe president James Marshall and Gary Oldman plays the leader of the Russian terrorist group. Glenn Close also stars as vice president Kathyrn Bennett. Marshall is also onboard with his wife Grace(Wendy Crewson) and daughter Alice(Liesel Matthews). The president is prepared to stand up against the terrorists and risk his life for his family and the other passengers on the plane. Other supporting actors include Paul Guilfoyle as chief of staff Lloyd Shepherd and William H. Macy as Major Caldwell.
My Thoughts: Unlike many other action-on-a-plane movies, this one doesn't rely on big explosives throughout the whole pic. Though there are some exciting moments, it focuses more on well created characters and smart dialoge. The terrorists have a reason to take over the plane unlike many other movies where they're place in it to shoot up a bunch of people and act totally sadistic. Gary Oldman, who's used to playing villians such as in The Professional, True Romance, and Fifth Element, does a great job playing the lead terrorist and acts more than a one dimensional figure. Glenn Close also does a good job as the vice president who's trying to keep the general public calm and trying to help out the president. I've always like Harrison Ford's movies ( except maybe Six Days, Seven Nights) and he does another fine job in this. I hate in a movie where average people,i.e. accountents or bankers, whenever against terrorists or professional killers just have some instinct that makes them as equal or better than the killers in fighting or shooting a gun. Fortunately, that's not the case in this movie, so some of the "good" guys do get hurt and it makes it more realistic. I think the director did a good job and the actors had great performances.
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