Air Force One

Cast: Harrison Ford, Gary Oldman, Glenn Close, Dean Stockwell, William H Macy
Director: Wolfgang Petersen

When Bruce Willis fought off a small army of terrorists in the sublime Die Hard in 1988, Hollywood executives wondered where this genre had been all their lives.

Always on the lookout for a formula which would make them money without breaking the bank, the idea of a lone hero, often in a remote, confined location clashing with a band of terrorists was too good to resist.

Actually it was nothing new.

The Roger Moore thriller North Sea Hijack had tackled the same idea in 1979.

The difference here was that Die Hard made a packet at the box office and gave film-makers a template for a host of thrillers in the 12 years that followed.

So we were soon faced with a host of clones such as Passenger 57, Under Siege and Air Force One.

Okay, it's not an original flick by any means and the effects leave a lot to be desired.

What makes it a cut above average is not the script or direction by the usually reliable Wolfgang Petersen but the cast, which includes Glenn Close, the always watchable Gary Oldman and, as a rather feasible president of the USA, Harrison Ford.

As with all lone hero thrillers, there are a number of rules to be observed in the execution of a movie like this.

One) The setting should be claustrophobic and, if possible, involve your hero crawling through some even more confined spaces such as air vents. (As with Die Hard 2 and Executive Decision, this is another jumbo-based thriller so no problem there.)

Two) The hero - usually with a solid dependable name like Jim, John or David - should be forced to use A Team-style ingenuity with a bit of Blue Peter jiggery pokery thrown in for good measure to create an arsenal which will stop or slow down the enemy.

(To enforce Ford's status as the hero reminiscent of old cowboy movies, he's also called Marshall. Gary Oldman's villain, on the other hand, is called Egor which may leave Frankenstein fans clear that this is a monster with a twisted perspective on the world.)

Three) If the crime fighting protagonist is a white upper or middle class hero, he must have a racially different mate on the ground or in an equally tricky situation to help him out, usually via cell phone or walkie talkie.

Four) Unlike the cohorts who will receive one swift blow or shot to kill them, your lead villain (nearly always a Brit playing a German, Israeli or Russian) will be dispatched at least three times in a series of ever more explosive set pieces.

Five) The hero will be reunited with his family as the closing scenes roll, usually with a little girl clutching a teddy bear. If a couple is estranged in the opening scenes, their marriage or relationship will be unbreakable by the end of the movie.

Air Force One is faithful to the lone hero rules and for the bulk of the movie is a good old-fashioned thriller.

The always reliable Dean Stockwell and the big screen's most lovable loser, William Macy, also star in a big budget slice of escapism which won't tax the brain too hard. In fact, as long as you turn on expecting every cliche in the book, then it's actually a lot of fun.

At a cost of $85million, it was hardly going to be the most daring movie in the world and by sticking to a tried and tested formula, managed to gross $300million worldwide.

Ever wonder if you're in the wrong business?

© 2000 Roger Crow

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