Blu-Ray Review:
Air Force One
By Jason Gillard
*Screenshots are not from the Blu-Ray source.
Movie
Current Rottentomatoes.com score 78% Fresh:38 Rotten:11
President James Marshall (Harrison Ford) is one of the most respected leaders in the history of America. When Kazakhstanian separatists commit atrocities on their own people, Marshall authorizes a guerrilla mission to take their leader, General Radek (Jürgen Prochnow), into custody and restore the democratic regime. In his speech afterward, the president vows never to let America hesitate again when dealing with terrorists. However, that's before a group of them, led by the ruthless Korchunov (Gary Oldman) take over his own flight on Air Force One, with his wife and young daughter also on board.
Air Force One is a great movie. It is one of my favorite Harrison Ford movies besides the Indiana Jones films. This movie has everything, action, suspense, missiles, and gun play. Harrison Ford does a great job of playing the president. Glen Close is also excellent as the Vice President. But the best character in the film is Gary Oldman who plays Korchunov the terrorist. This is one of those films that you can sit down and enjoy non-stop action from the moment it starts. There are certain things that happen in the film that are not really that believable, but I can let them slide because the movie is so much fun. If your looking for a fun political action thriller, look no further than Air Force One.
8.5 out of 10
Video
This movie came out in 1997 and Sony has done a wonderful job with the 2.40:1 1080p transfer. The image is very film-like with a layer of grain that fills every frame. Flesh tones look natural and black levels in the transfer are also well done. Colours come across as vibrant in most scenes. Most of this movie takes place inside of a plane and what we see in the plane is very realistically rendered. Detail is good in some scenes but a lot of the movie seems to have this haze to it, that effects detail. There is a lot of gun play and maybe this has something to do with the haze. When the detail is good particularly, in close ups of the actor's faces or instrument panels, it does look quite good. Air Force One is not going to win any awards for the best transfer but it is definitely a good transfer and leaps above the original DVD.
8 out of 10
Audio
This is where the Blu-ray shines. The audio in this film is a non stop assault on the senses. Every channel is alive, bringing the gunshots right into your living room. More than once I turned around to hear great surround effects. The LFE channel is loud from the second the opening music plays. There are a variety of weapons in this film and every one of them sound realistic. Dialogue also comes across clear which is amazing considering everything else that is going on. The track plays loud, I had to turn it down as to not wake the kids sleeping upstairs. As jets fly to escort Air Force One, they zoom from the rear channels to the front with a loud wooosh! Considering the age of the film I am amazed at how well this track holds up and it certainly is reference quality. Overall an amazing sonic experience, this alone would make this disc worth purchasing.
10 out of 10
Extras
Here is what you get in the way of extras:
Commentary track with Michael Coleman and Wolfgang Petersen
Bd-Live
Trailers
As you can see, there is nothing that worthy included here, which is too bad. For such a great film I was expecting more. The commentary was recorded for the DVD and has been ported over. It isn't that great a commentary either. He goes over the standard fair, but not much else. Overall a big disappointment in this section.
2 out of 10
Overall
For me the good far outweighs the bad, not to recommend this disc. A good transfer and flawless audio. The extras are the biggest let down. Maybe will see a special edition down the line, but for now this will have to do.
8 out of 10