1997 action film Air Force One shows how the world looked quite different two decades ago, when USA and post-Communist Russia used to be close allies. The plot begins after successful US military intervention in Kazakhstan, which prevented fledgling democracy in Russia to succumb to Communists intent on restoring Soviet Union. US President Marshall (played by Harrison Ford) returns from celebratory trip from Moscow when his plane – Air Force One – gets hijacked by elite team of terrorists led by Korshunov (played by Gary Oldman). Marshall, however, managed to hide during the hijacking and decides to thwart terrorists’ plans as much as possible. Made during the zenith of American post-Cold War power, Air Force One enjoyed logistical support by Clinton administration whose members correctly saw it as hagiographic allegory of sitting US President and his policies. As an action film, Air Force One works to a certain degree, with director Wolfgang Petersen using claustrophobic setting well, just as he has done with Das Boot. On the other hand, script asks audience to suspend too much disbelief, with Secret Service and later terrorists acting like idiots. From today’s perspective film looks even worse, with US President being presented as shining example of statesman’s virtue and insisting on US duty to act like a world’s policeman and spread democracy through military force – an advice followed in real life with catastrophic consequences. The idea of president as action superhero, on the other hand, looks like a propaganda that turns North Korean songs about Dear Leader into embodiment of subtlety.
RATING: 4/10
