america has finally gotten what it’s needed for years : a compassionate sincere president with impressive ethics and charisma .
regretfully it’s only a movie .
president james marshall ( harrison ford ) is fed up with terrorist activities .
teaming up with the russian government , he orders a strike force capture of alexander radek , a reactionary general ready to re-unite the soviet union under his fascist reign .
during a celebration dinner , marshall announces to the world that he will send troops to fight oppression wherever it exists .
” it’s your turn to be afraid , ” he declares .
returning home on air force one , he gets the chance to demonstrate his words personally .
ultra-nationalist militants loyal to radek and lead by ivan korshunov ( gary oldman ) hijack the plane threatening to kill a hostage every half hour until the general is released .
marshall has a chance to escape in a jettisoned capsule ( which clinton says doesn’t exist in real life ) but refuses , preferring to stay and fight .
director wolfgang peterson ( ” das boot ” , ” in the line of fire ” , ” outbreak ” takes the over-used ” die hard ” theme and gives us something new in a film that combines brilliant acting with hold-your-breath intensity .
if you can take your eyes off the screen , steal a look at the audience .
everyone is totally engrossed .
the two actors do what they do best and they are probably the best there are at it .
oldman has become typecast as a psychotic sadist and no wonder — he does it so well .
when he engages the teenage first daughter in sensitive conversation about his family and the next minute threatens to blow a hole in her forehead , you know that he’s over the edge in the manner that people with a cause can become .
you are convinced that young alice could end up terminated at any time .
when korshonov executes passengers , there is a frightening reality to it .
the guns in this film are deadly weapons , not cartoons .
harrison ford has done one role for several years .
his mastery of the man in the suit propelled into desperate action is in top form here .
marshall is a medal of honor recipient who now has a desk job .
realistically , he’s a man afraid , but not afraid to act .
ford is one of the few actors that could make us believe that the president of the united states could be an action hero .
indiana jones in the oval office .
he and oldman’s archetypes match up perfectly .
the other roles also go to accomplished actors .
glenn close as the determined but unsure vice-president is the picture of an executive forced into a position that she’s not quite ready for .
dean stockwell as defense secretary eager for the authority ( ” i’m in charge here ! ” )
is her political nemesis and turns in a good alexander haig performance .
of course the politics are all wrong .
a cowboy president ( even down to his name ) with big guns shoots his way through problems .
much like the american collective memory of jfk’s camelot , the image is wondrous if you don’t look too deep .
the pulls on the patriotic heartstrings would be too much in any other film , but they work here .
no matter what political spin you put on the story , the movie is an outstanding one .
i left the theater feeling that there is hope for the country’s future : not a common belief nowadays .
now if we only can get ford to run for president .
just because one actor didn’t work out as chief executive doesn’t mean that a different one couldn’t .
( michael redman has lost count of how many years he’s been writing this column — 21 years . . . 22 years — while watching the sunflowers outside his window swaying in the cool breezes . )