After delivering a speech in which he vows to do whatever it takes to put an end to international terrorism, President James Marshall (Harrison Ford) boards Air Force One with his family, departs Russia and heads for home. The plane has been airborne only a short time before a group of Soviet neo-nationalists--led by a Kazakhstani wacko named Egor Korshunov (Gary Oldman)--take control of the plane and threaten to kill everyone aboard unless the dictator to whom they are loyal is released from prison and restored to power. Marshall, who was squirreled away below decks when the trouble began, begins taking out the hijackers one by one, working to save his family and regain control of the plane.

CRITIQUE

Has there ever been a bigger example of wish fulfillment than Air Force One? Wolfgang Petersen’s 1997 action epic features as its main character a President who actually means what he says, refuses to kowtow to terrorists, and does his own ass-kicking. No hiding behind Secret Service agents or sending flunkies out to do the wet-work for this guy. Nope, when the chips are down and the bullets start to fly, this guy is right there in the middle of things, taking punches and spraying the bad guys with fire from an automatic weapon.

By extension then, this must also be the most implausible movie ever to come along. Can you imagine any elected official who would act in such a manner? Never happen; not in a million years. Doesn’t make the movie any less enjoyable, though. In fact, watching Harrison Ford involved in something that you know would never happen in a million years is part of the fun here, so why worry about how unlikely it is?

First things first--yes, this movie is essentially Die Hard on a Plane (although technically it’s Die Hard on a Plane 3, as it was released after Passenger 57 and Executive Decision). Ford is trapped in a shiny structure (this is, as the actor once put it, a “tube movie”), outmanned and outgunned, trying to save the ones he loves from a bunch of guys with accents.

You see a setup like that and you can pretty much map out how things are going to proceed. The fact that the primary setting is a plane makes it all the easier to map out. The moment you hear one supporting character mention that Marshall flew a helicopter in ‘Nam, you just know that as some point Ford is going to find himself behind the controls of that plane.

Oddly enough--or perhaps not so oddly--the moment Ford grabs those controls is the moment the fun starts to drain away. It’s novel to see the Commander in Chief turning a bunch of commie bastards into Swiss cheese, but seeing him struggle with engine flameouts is anything but novel. I’ve seen Karen Black do it, I’ve seen Kurt Russell do it; regardless of who does it (unless it’s Robert Hays, of course), it all pretty much plays the same. To make matters worse, the sequence itself is completely unnecessary.

The real climax of the movie comes several minutes earlier, with the bad guy finally getting his (sorry if I spoiled that), everyone jumping for joy, and Petersen wrapping it all up with a dizzying whirlwind camera spin. Roll credits there and everything would have been fine. But there’s one piece of business the movie still has to wrap up, and instead of doing it simply and quickly, we get a final reel that plods along to a final couple of minutes so ridiculous they make everything that has come before look reasonable by comparison. (The ending also features some truly horrible visual effects. A certain watery impact looks like it was created on an old Commodore.)

Blown ending aside, the movie has a lot going for it. Petersen, no stranger to stories set in cramped quarters (like everyone else, I can’t wait for the day that movie hits Blu-ray), keeps the pace blazing and the blood flying. (In addition to the ending, I also wish Petersen had worked around the scene in which Ford sneakily commands the fighter escort to fire on the plane. Not only is the sequence a whole lot of buildup with very little payoff, it’s awfully similar to the climax of Petersen’s In the Line of Fire.) Ford (who took over the role after Kevin Costner decided The Postman was a better vehicle for his talents) is good, and Oldman is excellent. And Jerry Goldsmith’s militaristic score is flat-out great; the movie wouldn’t work half as well without it.

THE VIDEO

The 2.40:1/1080p transfer--encoded with AVC onto a 50GB disc--proves to be a substantial upgrade over both the old standard-def disc and the later Superbit release. The transfers on both of those discs were more than a little soft, and while there’s still some softness on display in the transfer here (although in this case it’s mainly representative of the inherent softness in the original photography), sharpness, clarity, and visible detail have been greatly increased. Grain--boosted somewhat by the use of the Super 35 process--has a natural appearance, although it does spike quite a bit during composited effects shots.

THE AUDIO

The Dolby TrueHD 5.1 audio (in English and French flavors) is one of the loudest tracks I’ve ever come across. Petersen and the sound designers apparently couldn’t pass up any opportunity to crank up the score or effects (especially the scream of jet engines), as these elements often blast from all corners of the soundstage. Surprisingly, dialogue never gets lost in the din; bass action is never anything less than thunderous. English, English SDH, and French subtitles are available.

THE EXTRAS

The sole extra here is a commentary by Wolfgang Petersen. It’s a good track, with the director (who’s prodded along by a moderator) covering all the bases.

Would it have killed Sony Pictures to finally give this movie a special edition that has been due for many years? Apparently, yes it would.

FINAL THOUGHT

Despite an unnecessary, anticlimactic final reel, Air Force One still makes for enjoyable escapist fun.