Even though it stars Harrison Ford and although it's an action-thriller with political intrigue, "Air Force One" is not a Tom Clancy thriller. To be honest, it probably could have used Clancy's help on the plotting.
Of course, that's not to say that the film is unwatchable. In fact, Ford and director Wolfgang Petersen ("In the Line of Fire") manage to weave some movie magic with one of the most ludicrous plots in recent cinematic history. But said plot is also exasperatingly thin and D-U-M-B in places.
What's even more bizarre is that the story swipes bits of "Airport '75," "Star Wars," "Top Gun" and "Die Hard" — as well as a dated anti-Communism sentiment that's straight out of the John Wayne propaganda flick "The Green Berets" — and somehow makes it all work.
In the end, how the film does financially may depend on whether Americans will buy Ford as a tough-talking, butt-kicking president — although, given the amount of lies and deception we've had to suffer through in the past 30 years, maybe we need a man of action in the White House.
And action is what Ford's character, President James Marshall, is all about. As the film begins, this Medal of Honor-winning former soldier is seen giving an anti-terrorism speech in the former Soviet Union. Naturally, the speech rankles its intended target, as well as some members of Marshall's Cabinet, who wanted him to take a softer approach.
On the flight back — aboard the high-security luxury jet — that speech comes back to haunt him, as the plane is hijacked by a group of Russian nationalists, led by Ivan Korshunov (Gary Oldman). The terrorists are hoping to swap the chief executive for the imprisoned tyrant General Radek (Jurgen Prochnow).
At first, it looks as though the kidnapping has failed, as he manages to deploy the craft's escape pod. But in actuality, the president has actually stowed aboard, hoping to free his wife (Wendy Crewson) and daughter (Liesel Matthews) and the other hostages.
He also has the element of surprise with him, though time is against him — during negotiations with the vice president (Glenn Close) the terrorists have promised to kill one hostage every half-hour until their demands are met.
As mentioned, both Ford and Petersen, who can craft as suspenseful a film as any director in the business today, have a heyday with the loopy tale. Petersen has given things a creepy, claustrophobic feel that only heightens the tension. After all, how many directors can make a scene about an unread fax message seem so dramatic?
Would that first-time screenwriter Andrew W. Marlowe's script were nearly as good. Not only is the dialogue as cheesy as it gets, there are some logical inconsistencies — especially the ease with which the terrorists take over the jet — which aren't completely insurmountable.
Fortunately, the film's got Ford, who's as solid as usual. There are also a bevy of fine supporting performances, especially from Crewson and Close — two of the more believable and strong female characters in recent film history — as well as Dean Stockwell and "Fargo's" William H. Macy.
As Korshunov, Oldman is a little problematic, since his Russian accent is every bit as corny as the jingoistic dialogue spoken by some of the characters. However, he does manage to be menacing nonetheless.
Kudos should also go to the film's special effects team, under the supervision of Richard Edlund. Particularly convincing are the in-air sequences and some spectacular aerial dogfight scenes.
"Air Force One" is rated R for wall-to-wall violence and mayhem, profanity, some gory shots and a particularly vulgar joke uttered by one character.