Highly Underrated Film: Air Force One(1997)

[Engage]

I did some searching and I was surprised to find that this is barely ever talked about... not only in this great community of ours, but all over the web.

My favourite scene is during the early part of the movie where we see the beginning of the take over of Air Force One and how ruthlessly efficient the Russian fighters are. The ensuing gun fight is truly amazing.

Does anyone know why nobody talks about this film?

[pitmosher]

Good question. I personally like the film very much.

maybe some viewers feel that a president fighting back, John McClane style, is too much?

Wolfgang Peterson has some clunkers.... but this isn't one of them

Gary Oldman is in it for pete's sake!

[levcore]

Great movie, very underrated. it's a fantastic 'Die Hard on a....' movie and a great action movie in it's own right. In fact the only drawback is the horrible CG towards the end, everything else is great and holds up well today. I own it and rewatched it just a few weeks ago. Great fun.

[Adam_ME]

I thought it was overrated honestly. At least based on the box office returns. It's a 2 1/2 stars out of 4 movie at best. Oldman was a solid villain. Harrison Ford was still sort of giving a damn before he completely stopped trying for the next ten years(until Indy 4).

But it was hampered by a lousy script(or at least bad editing decisions). How can you base the entire story around a turncoat Secret Service agent and then not reveal his motive for betraying his President and his country?! Why would you kill off the villain about 3/4 of the way through the movie when he's the best thing about it? It would be like Die Hard doing away with Hans and Karl and then still having 20 minutes left to go.

I know a lot of people praise Goldsmith's score, but I thought it was bland and uninspired. In his defense though, he was a last minute hire and had like a week to compose it. And yes, that infamous CGI crash at the end is maybe the worst FX shot I've seen in a big budget blockbuster in the last 20 years. It's made worse by that pathetic "NOOOOO!" by George Mason from 24 as the plane hits the water.

[imsounoriginal]

Have a very big soft spot for this movie, as it was my first R-rated movie (a very soft R, in retrospect). Yeah it's basically Die Hard on a plane but the action is awesome, it moves along quickly, and Ford and Oldman give it their all (plus Close as the VP, which was an inspired choice). They don't make em like this anymore (sad, it's not even 20 years old).

[Scarriere]

I like it a lot too!
I don't care about those details spelled out a couple posts above, it's very entertaining.

[doctor_who]

What do you mean, underrated?!

Everybody pretty much loves Air Force One.

[imsounoriginal]

Originally Posted by doctor_who

What do you mean, underrated?!

Everybody pretty much loves Air Force One.

I think he means more that people don't talk about it enough, compared to other good action movies from the 90s (The Fugitive, The Rock, The Matrix, etc.).

[Ray Jackson]

Originally Posted by doctor_who

What do you mean, underrated?!

Everybody pretty much loves Air Force One.

I don't.

[Foggy]

Originally Posted by Engage

Does anyone know why nobody talks about this film?

I think because it's nearly two decades old.

[surfdude12]

Originally Posted by Foggy

I think because it's nearly two decades old.

just like nobody talks about Face Off or The Rock

[DrWally]

Even for 1997 the CGI was utterly appalling. Just a year earlier a similarly themed action thriller (Executive Decision) used matte and modelwork techniques and holds up far better today because of it. Wolfgang Petersen got too carried away with a technique that wasn't ready for prime time. To my mind it wasn't until Pearl Harbor in 2001, for all that movie's faults, that aerial action scenes with planes were rendered convincingly in CG.

[doctor_who]

Originally Posted by DrWally

Even for 1997 the CGI was utterly appalling. Just a year earlier a similarly themed action thriller (Executive Decision) used matte and modelwork techniques and holds up far better today because of it. Wolfgang Petersen got too carried away with a technique that wasn't ready for prime time. To my mind it wasn't until Pearl Harbor in 2001, for all that movie's faults, that aerial action scenes with planes were rendered convincingly in CG.

I love Executive Decision, probably more than Air Force One, but I talk about each not at all, since they are old. I would have to say, that Air Force One is a well watched part of my movie collection.

[Member-275053]

I don't think it's 'underrated.'

It's just an average film. It doesn't even rank among Harrison Ford's best.

[dvdmike]

Watched in 4k the other day, its fun but stupid

[Engage]

Did anyone else enjoy that early gun fight scene right when the Secret Service Agent 'Gibbs' goes hostile and the Russians run for the guns? I can't get enough of it.

[rockinrick]

I liked the film and wouldn't consider it underated.

[esteban²]

It's an OK action movie. Nothing more, nothing less. I don't see how 'underrated' is the right term to describe it ...

[dvdmike]

78% fresh is underrated?

https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/air_force_one/

[Member-275053]

Originally Posted by dvdmike

78% fresh is underrated?

https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/air_force_one/

Well, if anything, that's overrated. But, I don't really subscribe to RT. I prefer Metacritic, where this film has a 61/100.

But, I think the OP just wanted to create an appreciation thread for the film, and got a little carried away.