Review of Air Force One

Introduction

Air Force One is another big budget `plane` movie. Harrison Ford plays the president of the USA (well he would, wouldn`t he?), in a totally unbelievable story that centres on the hijacking of Air Force One, the presidential jet.

It is real popcorn fodder, and is one of those movies that you can just let wash over you. The blatant Americanism sticks out like a sore thumb, and Gary Oldman is wonderfully foreign as the leader of the hijackers.

Lots of stunts, lots of action and lots of Glenn Close being the Vice President. Hmmm!

Video

Air Force One is presented in a widescreen 2.35:1 ratio. It is also a `flipper` in that the movie is split in two over both sides of the DVD. This is the worst feature about this disk, that is not the case with the Region 1 version. Picture quality is generally good, although on each of the three occasions I have viewed this disk, there are several skips and screen flashes that are seen throughout the movie. This is noticeable on both my TV and LCD projector. I am uncertain as to whether this is caused by the DVD or my DVD player - I have yet to try it out on another piece of hardware, so I cannot for sure blame the disk itself (but my instincts suggest that it is!). There are 16 chapters on side A (the first 70 minutes of the film) and 19 chapters on side B to make navigation to the many action sequences in this film easy.

Audio

A full Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack is put to good use with the many action sequences and air shots of the Air Force One 747 and various missiles and fighters. Gun fire also is spread across all five speakers and although they seem overly loud, add to the excitement and tension of this movie. The music is very atmospheric and `heroic` when the President (Ford) makes it off the doomed 747. A good disk for showing off your audio system then, only to be let down by the fact that you have to `flip` the disk half way through - yuk!.

Features

As is typical of the current Region 2 Buena Vista releases (Jackie Brown, The Rock, Con Air) you get absolutely nothing. Not even the tiniest hint of a trailer! Also the menus are totally static and are about as basic as ever. Add to that the fact that this DVD is a flipper and the whole message is pointing to the fact that if you like this film - get the Region 1 version if your player can handle it.

Conclusion

I loved the film. I have a weakness for `plane` type movies - I loved the `Airport` series for example, and `Executive Decision`. Although friends have said that the movie is awful, I personally enjoyed it. I do not tend to watch a film just to pick holes in it, and for sheer entertainment value Air Force One is up there with the best of them - check out the scene early on when the 747 comes into land only to take off again immediately, weaving in and out all over the airport. Unbelievable? Of course - but who cares! It`s fun - and comes across great on a big projected 7 foot screen!! However you have to swallow hard at all the blatant American patriotism - one memorable quote from the movie was when the American cabinet were discussing what to do, and one member shouts: "Dammit! NOBODY does this to the United States!". Hmmmm.

The fact that the disk is a flipper (and side 1 ends in an awful position - did they even THINK about where to break the film up??) with no extras then the message is to buy the Region 1 version - that is a dual layer disk, with trailers and a commentary I believe.