Share

Watch It

On DVD: Now | On Blu-ray: Now
Watch it on iTunes Buy on Amazon

Air Force One Review

Other Critics provided by Metacritic.com

Critics scores range from 0 to 100, with higher scores indicating more favorable reviews.

  • 4.0
    61

    out of 100

    Metascore®
    Generally favorable reviews
    based on a weighted average of all
    critic review scores.

  • 100

    out of 100

    Entertainment Weekly Owen Gleiberman

    Harrison Ford as the President of the United States is such a perfect piece of casting that it's at once a fantasy and a joke: The joke is how perfect the fantasy is. [25 Jul 1997, p. 48]

  • 100

    out of 100

    Los Angeles Times Kenneth Turan

    At once vigorous and old-fashioned, a piece of expertly crafted entertainment that gets the job done with skill and panache. [25 July 1997]

  • 63

    out of 100

    Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert

    A fairly competent recycling of familiar ingredients, given an additional interest because of Harrison Ford's personal appeal.

    Read Full Review

  • 63

    out of 100

    ReelViews James Berardinelli

    Petersen ratchets the tension up to a level where the viewer is likely to forget the imbecilic plot contrivances that have gotten the situation to this point, and just enjoy the action and adventure.

    Read Full Review

  • 75

    out of 100

    USA Today Mike Clark

    Viscerally juicy....The movie is effectively cast. [25 July 1997, p.D2]

  • 80

    out of 100

    The New York Times Elvis Mitchell

    A meat-and-potatoes American thriller that means business all around the world.

    Read Full Review

  • 80

    out of 100

    Variety Todd McCarthy

    Viewers looking for old-fashioned movie thrills as a change of pace from the glut of alien and digital-oriented features might paradoxically enjoy the feeling of being back on terra firma with this airborne adventure.

    Read Full Review

  • See all Air Force One reviews at Metacritic.com

View MoreView Less

For Families provided by Common Sense Media

OK for kids 13+

Ford makes farfetched action-hero-prez electable.

What Parents Need to Know

Parents need to know that violence in the film includes close-range shootings of innocent hostages, and death threats to women and an adolescent girl. There is also scattered profanity, but in general the R-rating is pretty surprising; seems the MPAA has slapped PG-13s on nastier films than this.

  • Families can talk about the actions undertaken by President Marshall. Should a U.S. president perform lone-wolf heroics like that? You can educate kids about the post-Cold War time period. Going further back, cite presidents who were war heroes and whether that translated into good leadership or not (compare George Washington to Ulysses S. Grant, for example). What did kids think of all the Cabinet bickering about authority and command protocol while President Marshall was in jeopardy?

The good stuff
  • message true3

    Messages: They don't get much better than the hero, a strong dad, loving husband, concerned president (who actually dares to set ethical policy and write his own speeches over the heads of Washington hacks) and war hero who is also fearless and heroic. No, you never learn what party he represents, sorry. Secret Service agents are portrayed as courageous and self-sacrificing. A woman vice-president, whose authority and strength is questioned by both the villains and her own government, refuses to cave into pressure.

What to watch for
  • violence false3

    Violence: A lot of gunfire, hand-to-hand combat (resulting in broken necks), and bullet casualties. Airborne explosions and warcraft dogfighting.

  • sex false0

    Sex: Not an issue

  • language false3

    Language: The s-word a few times, the f-word once, and "son of a bitch."

  • consumerism false3

    Consumerism: Beverage labels, cable news channel names

  • drugsalcoholtobacco false3

    Drinking, drugs and smoking: Social drinking

An independent nonprofit dedicated to providing families the information they need to help kids thrive in a world of media and technology.

© Common Sense Media Inc. 2010. All rights reserved.

View MoreView Less

Fan Reviews provided by

Average Rating: 4.088
Read all reviews Write a review at Fandango
4

by geoelevation25

4

by ChangoPelon

4

Review title (optional)
Review body (optional)

5

by jacob185

Read all Air Force One reviews at Fandango
Advertisement