"Air Force One" is a good summer blockbuster to watch, especially for the America-obsessed patriots who love watching good Mr. American President kicking bad, grumpy terrorist asses. Guess I'm not one of them...

Its the perfect action with the right amount of danger! However, its Rated R for Violence even though it should have been rated PG-13 for intense action violence and brief strong language.

I thought this was a great movie with Harrison Ford playing in a familiar role of hero for him. Nothing all too special, for Ford, but a good action movie nevertheless.

Thrilling. Still, it's kinda funny, making Harrison Ford president.

Mediocre. Something Harrison Ford has been associating himself with as of late. Talk about backsliding.

More formulaic workings here but, importantly, it's done pretty well. One of Ford's better present-day roles and one of the better scripts for such a movie. It doesn't ever reach great heights, but the wheels remain firmly screwed on throughout, travelling at a brisk enough speed to give the viewer an enjoyable, albeit comfortable and safe, journey. Worth renting.

One thing I've noticed that Air Force One really hammered home for me is that Wolfgang Petersen really doesn't do subtle. From the over-the-top action, to the cheesy dialogue that is delivered by actors with a completely straight face and the lengthy set-pieces, everything is designed with no-nonsense thrills in mind. There's no real agenda behind the film as far as I can tell, it was made too late and loaded with too many archaic and fantastical views to say anything about even the Cold War, let alone the modern world. Jerry Goldsmith's score is also instantly noticeable, not for its quality as such, but because it's invasive, bordering on jarring. The central plot of the film could be quite terrifying, especially to a modern audience, but the story takes you to such ludicrous extremes that it threatens to become parody. The cast's performances are largely unremarkable, particularly (and rather disappointingly) Ford's action-hero president. The only actors that really stand out are Gary Oldman (who looks like he was having so much fun with the role) and Glenn Close, who valiantly appears to be attempting to bring the film back to some form of reality. Despite its problems, if you watch it in the right frame of mind (preferably with a beer in hand and with the company of a few friends) you can have a lot of fun watching Air Force One. It's pure, unashamed escapism.… Expand

While entirely unbelievable and full to the brim of plot holes, Air Force One still flies high thanks to its ability to create tension so high people with pacemakers probably shouldn't watch it. The first 30 minutes of the film are the most thrilling with a engrossing opening to the extremely manic hijacking everything is done to build tension and the film doesn't miss a beat with it seamlessly cutting from the plane, to the ground and to the White House. The characters are introduced quickly to avoid losing momentum but writer Andrew Marlowe gives enough for viewers to relate and empathise with them. The film understandably lags after the initial action but this is beneficial as it allows for Gary Oldman to do what he does best, be menacing. The casting of the film is one of the main draws with Harrison Ford providing his usual gritty performance and Oldman rivaling Alan Rickman's Hans Gruber but it would be nice to see other fine actors such as William H Macy, Paul Guilfoyle and Xander Berkeley given more to do. The main flaw of Air Force One is that its ending, which should be the climax of all the tension comes too early with the real ending being not nearly as tense. In summary if you like the idea of Harrison Ford and Gary Oldman playing cat and mouse in an enclosed space 40,000 feet in the air than this film is for you. Lovingly put together by Wolfgang Petersen, a real crowd pleaser.… Expand