Air Force One UHD Review

Sony’s 4K UHD Blu-ray release of Air Force One is a real winner, providing an excellent video and audio presentation.

The Production: 4/5

After the US assists the former Soviet Union in capturing General Ivan Radek (Jurgen Prochnow), a dictator who has taken control of Kazakhstan, US President James Marshall (Harrison Ford) attends a dinner in his honor in Moscow. A small team of Radek sympathizers, lead by Ivan Korshunov (Gary Oldman), manage to sneak on board Air Force One, posing as Russian journalists, eventually hijacking the plane and taking the passengers hostage in exchange for the release of Radek. Assuming the President has fled the plane in his escape pod and most likely dead, Korshunov tries to negotiate over the phone with Vice President Kathryn Bennett (Glenn Close). Except that the United States does not negotiate with terrorists, and the President is pretending to be John McClane within the fuselage of Air Force One.

Air Force One is a fun, exciting popcorn action film written by Andrew Marlowe (Castle) and directed by Wolfgang Petersen (Das Boot, NeverEnding Story, In the Line of Fire) with a strong sense of patriotism (thanks mostly to Jerry Goldsmith’s last-minute score) and a seemingly never-aging Harrison Ford thwarting the terrorists. The supporting cast almost reads like a who’s who of top character actors, including William H. Macy, Dean Stockwell, Tom Everett, Elya Baskin, Bill Smitrovich, Phillip Baker Hall, Spencer Garrett, Elya Baskin, Xander Berkeley, and Paul Guilfoyle. Marlowe’s script is at times implausible, often borrowing from other movies (the escape pod, for example, from Escape From New York), but Petersen keeps the action moving and Ford, who was 55 at the time the film was released, is as agile as Indiana Jones and Han Solo.

Video: 5/5

3D Rating: NA

Sony has proven, yet again, that they really know how to consistently bring their catalog titles to the 4K UHD Blu-ray format with Air Force One. Photographed in Super 35mm by Michael Ballhaus (The Color of Money, Goodfellas) and completed on 35mm film, this is a true 4K presentation through and through. Thanks to the use of HDR10, the movie has never looked better, with deep blacks that really accentuate the opening covert mission in the dead of night, plus the myriad of darkened interiors of the plane with fine shadow details. Colors are much more vivid when compared to the 2009 Blu-ray release, although much of the film is bathed in browns and greys. Film grain is noticeable and organic, never distracting.

Audio: 5/5

Sony’s new Dolby Atmos remix for Air Force One is outstanding, offering tighter bass response and a wider, more immersive sound field. Jerry Goldsmith’s score benefits greatly, swelling more often than not across, behind, and above you. The opening mission uses the heights to simulate paratroopers overhead, and placing various sounds throughout the film more precisely within the sound field. Dialogue is clear and understandable throughout. Oh, and yes, subtitles for when characters speak Russian are placed within the frame now.

Special Features: 1.5/5

Audio Commentary with Director Wolfgang Petersen: Available on both the UHD and Blu-ray discs, the track (ported from the original DVD release) is quite informative and is moderated by Michael Coleman.

Theatrical Trailer (1080p; 2:27)

Digital Copy: An insert contains a code to redeem a digital copy on Movies Anywhere. Apparently, Sony forgot to grant MA licenses for this film to both Google Play Movies and FandangoNow, since the movie is missing from my library on those two services. I did receive HD versions on Vudu, Microsoft Movies, and iTunes (although it may be 4K, since I only have iTunes on my Windows PC), and UHD on Amazon Prime.

Overall: 4.5/5

Sony’s 4K UHD Blu-ray release of Air Force One is a real winner, providing an excellent video and audio presentation.

Todd Erwin

Todd Erwin has been a reviewer at Home Theater Forum since 2008. His love of movies began as a young child, first showing Super 8 movies in his backyard during the summer to friends and neighbors at age 10. He also received his first movie camera that year, a hand-crank Wollensak 8mm with three fixed lenses. In 1980, he graduated to "talkies" with his award-winning short The Ape-Man, followed by the cult favorite The Adventures of Terrific Man two years later. Other films include Myth or Fact: The Talbert Terror and Warren's Revenge (which is currently being restored). In addition to movie reviews, Todd has written many articles for Home Theater Forum centering mostly on streaming as well as an occasional hardware review, is the host of his own video podcast Streaming News & Views on YouTube and is a frequent guest on the Home Theater United podcast.