Once you start watching these big ’90s thrillers, it’s kind of hard to stop. They’re addictive as hell. You already know what’s going to happen, but there will also be a couple of nice surprises. The action scenes are big and mostly without CGI. After all this time, you’ll also notice how things were different back then. Although, as someone who grew up during the ’80s and ’90s, I still think they were just a couple of years ago, and not thirty! Air Force One is one of those movies you know everything about before even glancing at it.
If you don’t want to watch the president of the United States take down a group of terrorists who have hijacked his airplane, don’t watch this movie. It’s as simple as that. I’m telling you this from the perspective of someone who refused to watch it for more than 25 years. Air Force One is basically Die Hard but on a plane. The very concept of a president kicking so much ass seemed just insanely cringey to me. However, after all these years, I was ready to put my personal feelings aside and see what the fuss was about.
I have to tell you that Air Force One did not disappoint. I urge you to watch just the opening scene, it’s bizarre in its own right. A group of special forces soldiers parachutes onto a presidential palace in Russia. While gliding down, they use silenced pistols with lasers to shoot the guards right between the eyes. They just don’t make big movies like this anymore. The director is none other than Wolfgang Petersen, the guy behind such hits as Outbreak, The Perfect Storm, and Troy. However, his first movie was very different.
Das Boot is a masterpiece of claustrophobia that probably recommended him for the job. And I’m sure you remember Petersen’s eighties classic, The Neverending Story. I’m just gonna skip the whole synopsis as you already know that the terrorists are going to take over the plane. However, a couple of things are worth noting here. The president openly makes a speech proclaiming the new role of the US as the world policeman. Korshunov, the main villain also makes some valid points about the rules of engagement and Iraq.
He says: “You press a button and people die”, not knowing that in just a decade, drone warfare will mark Obama’s presidency. Something explored intelligently in the 2014 Good Kill starring Ethan Hawke. In the last couple of years, we’ve seen a further escalation of drone use in the war between Ukraine and Russia. Well, I guess that’s enough of that serious stuff. You came to Subversive Rabbit to find out what movies are worth watching but I go where the story takes me. And right now it’s taking me straight to the cast of this movie.
In the lead role we have, who else but Harrison Ford while the main villain is played by Gary Oldman. Both of them gave great performances along with Glenn Close, Paul Guilfoyle, and Xander Berkeley. Ford was paid a whopping $20 million for his role out of the relatively big budget of $85 million. The movie made more than $320 million at the box office and is still generating revenue as it remains quite popular. Speaking of money, the real Air Force One is a Boeing 747-200 while the production used a similar-looking Boeing 747-146. The paint job that made it look like the real deal cost $300.000.
I should also add that if you decide to watch Air Force One, you’ll see a lot of great airplane explosions. They still look authentic and exciting, even after all this time. Especially if you decide to check out the 4k remaster version of the movie. The same goes for all the stunts, excluding Ford’s Mission Impossible-style shenanigans. There’s only one man who can pull off stuff like that, and his name is Tom Cruise. Just like in The Fugitive, the action starts relatively early on and doesn’t stop until the end.
Finally, if you’re looking for more movies about airplane hijacking like Air Force One check out Executive Decision, Flightplan, Passenger 57 and Non-Stop. I also want to mention the fantastic French thriller based on true events, The Assault.
Director: Wolfgang Petersen
Writer: Andrew W. Marlowe
Cast: Harrison Ford, Gary Oldman, Glenn Close, Wendy Crewson, Liesel Matthews, Paul Guilfoyle
Fun Facts: The prison you see in the movie Air Force One is the same one used in The Shawshank Redemption, Ohio State Reformatory in Mansfield, Ohio.
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IMDb Link: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0118571/
