Word: forde
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There are no snakes, no Nazis, no ark or precious stones. There are, however, lots of flying punches, bruised cheekbones and bloody hands, a lovely lady and, of course, the stiff upper lip and drop-dead good looks of Harrison Ford. It may be years later, but Indy hasn't lost his touch for cunning escapes and coming out on top at the end of a long day. Only this time the adventure doesn't star Jones but the President of the United States--and it's not in the jungles of Central America or Asia but in the nation...
...Ford plays President James Marshall, a man of action who orders a joint Russian-American commando raid and capture of the genocidal dictator General Radek in Kazakhstan. After the operation is successfully accomplished, Marshall delivers an I-mean-it speech in Moscow warning terrorists that "your day is over," then boards AF1 with his wife, 12-year-old daughter and some 50 staff members. Once airborne, just as Marshall is settling down to enjoy a recorded Notre Dame/Michigan football game, terrorists disguised as a Russian TV crew and led by Gary Oldman as Korshunov, a fanatical Radek loyalist, take over...
...cast is excellent right from the top, especially Ford as the ideal President, whose love for his family, integrity and courage (he earned a medal of honor in Vietnam) make him the perfect man to lead the free world--and that's before he reveals his ability to pack a powerful punch. On the ground, Glenn Close plays a cool and collected V.P. who has to deal not only with the crisis in the air but also with a power struggle with a Secretary of Defense who seems to have a problem with not being in control himself. There...
...humorous touches, as when Ford creeps past baggage and broken glass from refrigerators filled with enough milk, orange juice and cases of Bud to quench the thirst of all Kazakhstan; and when, after fumbling through the pages of a cellular phone user's pamphlet, he finds himself dealing with a skeptical White House phone operator who responds, "Yeah. And I'm the First Lady." Equally amusing is a parachute scene in which a secretary who provides key assistance to Marshall descends, smiling, into the safety of...central Asia...
This contrast between subtlety and silliness, improbability and believability, makes for a thrilling yet well-balanced summer blockbuster. And, best of all, the ever-reliable Ford is there to save the day. Though the action seldom descends below 15,000 feet, and Ford wears a rumpled suit and tie rather than his trademark fedora and bull-whip, as always, his hero triumphs and survives with what is perhaps his greatest treasure: his family...