"Get off my plane!" (mini-review)

Ah, glorious Superbit. If you’ve been keeping up with my blog, or if you know me well enough, you know that I love high quality audio/video when it comes to DVDs. I can overlook the absence of entertaining and informative special features if the film itself is presented in beautiful 1.85:1 Anamorphic video and wall-shaking DTS 5.1. I think Sony Pictures had me in mind when they created their Superbit franchise. Movies released on Superbit have no special features – just a film that looks and sounds phenomenal. For a movie like Air Force One, with lots of dramatic action sequences and thunderous explosions, Superbit is the only way to go.

I guess any movie that involves terrorists hijacking an airplane is now considered somewhat ironic due to the events of 9/11. That aside, this movie is unique in that the plane being hijacked is none other than the president’s personal jet, Air Force One. Harrison Ford plays the President of the United States. He’s the perfect candidate for the job. Although he does seem to play the role with more honour, integrity and devotion than we’re used to seeing in an American president. Gary Oldman plays the Russian terrorist whose goal is to hold the President, his family and Air Force One hostage in return for the release of an ultra-radical General being held prisoner in a Moscow prison. What can I say about Gary Oldman in this role? He’s the ultimate bad guy and this is another fantastic performance.

I think this might the first time I’ve said this in my blog so please pay attention – movies require suspension of disbelief. If there’s one piece of movie criticism I can’t stand it’s ‘the movie was not realistic’. Movies aren’t supposed to be realistic! Okay, granted there are some films that are ‘based’ on actual events, but even those films take numerous liberties in order to present an entertaining picture. I really don’t understand why people get upset when a particular movie is “unbelievable” or “unrealistic”. Don’t we go to movies to escape from reality, if only for a short time? If you want reality save $20 and just sit out on your front lawn and watch the world go by. But if you want to suspend your disbelief, watch a ‘what-if’ scenario and be entertained by something you don’t see everyday, then pick up Air Force One or any of the other movies out there and have fun. Could the events in Air Force One actually happen? I seriously doubt it. Would the movie be fun if it depicted only what could actually happen? I seriously doubt it.

Air Force One is fun and it’s the perfect example of a movie based in the real world where un-real things happen. And that’s what makes it so enjoyable to watch. The performances are gripping. The action sequences are intense. The explosions are huge (and who doesn’t love a good explosion). And did I mention that the Superbit version looks and sounds awesome on my home theatre?

Patriotic trivia for ‘Air Force One’.