History Film / AirForceOne

* NiceJobFixingItVillain:
** Terrorist Sergei apparently doesn't know what explosive decompression is. To get through a locked door he jams a fire extinguisher in the handle and shoots it. ''On a plane''. This results in at least five people (including a restrained terrorist) getting sucked out of the plane (although we see three people have chutes safely opened). ''And'' the [[spoiler: President almost fell out]]. Unfortunately, Sergei isn't one of them. This also leads to the explosion of the tanker plane that was refueling Air Force One at the time, and could easily have killed EVERYONE if not for the pilot's quick thinking.
** [[spoiler:At the end of the film, Air Force One is losing height and is about to crash. President Marshall [[LeaveNoManBehind insists on taking everyone with him]] even though the pararescue man says he can only take one more. Caldwell insists that the President should be the one to leave. [[TheMole Gibbs]] winds up solving that problem by killing Caldwell so that Marshall only has to save himself.]]

* ValuesDissonance: Not to the point of rooting for the villains, but in Europe the retorts Korshunov gives about USA President -being a killer in Tuxedo; making war and killing thousands to save a nickel on the price of a gallon of gas- were considered to be not far off from truth and Korshunov himself was considered way more sympathetically.

* FakeNationality: Radek is portrayed by German actor Jürgen Prochnow.

* AuthorityEqualsAsskicking: Ironically subverted by the terrorists, not realizing that it's the President kicking ass, believing that it's a Secret Service agent who's holding out. Justified since Marshall was a former officer in the United States Air Force.

** In addition, invoking the 25th Amendment is played as though it means the Vice President will become President automatically. In reality, the Vice President becomes President unless and until the President declares that he ''is'' fit to serve, making the transfer of power temporary. The Vice President's reluctance to invoke the Amendment is therefore a highly principled gaffe, and would looked upon poorly by Congress after the situation is resolved.

** '''B'''oris '''B''azylev, the terrorist who is played by Creator/AndrewDivoff and is killed second.

* GenericDoomsdayVillain: Radek thanks to his lack of screen time. He's only seen being taken prisoner, in prison before being released [[spoiler: and then shot.]] His actions are hinted at, but the audiences knows so little about him that he's more a MacGuffin than a character. [[spoiler: Gibbs [[TheMole betrays the president]] to Russian terrorists, for no explained reason. It's never so much as hinted as to what his motivation was, other than that he's evil.]]

* TheReveal: [[spoiler:There's a mole on board.]]

* SacrificialLamb: National Security Advisor Doherty is a quintessential DefiantCaptive who loves to rub it in the villains’ faces that their plans have gone to shit, which leads to Korshunov executing him to show he means business.

** '''B'''oris '''B''azylev, the terrorist who is played by Creator/AndrewDivoff and killed second.

* ChekhovsGun: The satellite cellphone.

* NooseCatch: The climactic fight ends with the baddie shoved off the plane by the [[ActionPolitician President]], with a cargo strap wrapped around his neck.
-->'''The President''': [[PreMortemOneLiner Get off my plane.]]
* NoPartyGiven: It barely matters, but Marshall is not given a party affiliation in the movie. The novelization averts this by explicitly stating that he's a moderate Republican.

* StateVisit: It begins with President Marshall in Moscow commemorating a joint US-Russian operation that captured Khazakstan dictator General Radek. This sets the stage for Radek's followers to hijack Air Force One in an attempt to secure his release.
* StepThreeProfit: What exactly did the villains plan to ''do'' if their plan succeeded? Retribution against them and any nation even ''suspected'' of helping them would have been dire, ''easily'' to the point of [[WorldWarIII total nuclear war]]. That may be their aim, though.

* AlliterativeName: Deputy Press Secretary Melanie Mitchell.

* FakeNationality: Radek is portrayed by German actor Jürgen Prochnow.

* ButtMonkey: Igor Nevsky, among the terrorists. He gets yelled at for failing to capture the President during the initial hijacking, gets captured by Marshall while guarding the hostages, and finally gets blown out of the plane by Sergei-with no parachute.

The United States has just deposed Ivan Radek, the dictator of Kazakhstan. US President James Marshall (Ford) is returning to the United States on the titular aircraft after a conference in Moscow. Little does he know that Radek loyalists have snuck on the plane by disgusing themselves as journalists. Shortly after takeoff, the terrorists hijack the plane with the goal of securing Radek's release. Unfortunately for them, Marshall has no intention of surrendering to the hijackers.

'''Secretary:''' ''(over the phone, having done so)'' I
traced the call, sir. Are you there? [[OhCrap Oh, my God]]... [[MyGodYouAreSerious I'll put you right through, Mr. President]].

* DisneyVillainDeath: Suffered both by the bad guys and good guys when the hostages are caught jumping off the plane. Played with by Korshunov who breaks his neck but floats safely with a parachute.

** Korshunov smugly disposes of all the plane's parachutes in front of Marshall so only he escapes alive. A livid Marshall sends him out of the plane, choked to death with his remaining parachute.

'''Secretary:''' ''(over the phone, having done so)'' [[OhCrap Oh, God]]... [[MyGodYouAreSerious I'll patch you over, Mr. President]].

* HighConcept: It's ''Film/DieHard'' [[DieHardOnAnX on]] Air Force One and President Creator/HarrisonFord is taking back his plane. That's the entire movie in one short sentence.

* {{Novelization}}: By Creator/MaxAllanCollins. An audiobook was released read by Creator/EdwardHerrmann,

* NiceJobFixingItVillain: [[spoiler:At the end of the film, Air Force One is losing height and is about to crash. President Marshall [[LeaveNoManBehind insists on taking everyone with him]] even though the pararescue man says he can only take one more. Caldwell insists that the President should be the one to leave. [[TheMole Gibbs]] winds up solving that problem by killing Caldwell so that Marshall only has to save himself.]]

* SupportingProtagonist: Bennett

---> "When you talk to the President, you might remind him that I am holding his wife, his daughter, his chief of staff, his national security adviser, his classified papers - ''and his baseball glove''!"

%%* BackedByThePentagon

---> "Haha! Good guys are here!"

-->'''Marshall''': "I trusted you with my life!"
-->'''[[spoiler: Gibbs]]''': "So will the next president!"

--> '''Korshunov''': [[spoiler: Your national security advisor]] has just been executed. He's a very good negotiator. He bought you another half-hour.

-->[[spoiler:'''Halo Lead''':''Four more bandits, heading zero-nine-zero, [[AttackAttackAttack Engage!]]'']]

--->'''Halo Lead''': [[spoiler:''Not so fast, [[ThisIsForEmphasisBitch you son of a bitch!]]'']]

-->'''Korshunov''': [''holding the dead Krasin's hand''] He was in Afghanistan with me for five years. Find out who did this or you lie down next to him.

--->'''Colonel Axelrod''': No matter what happens, we land this aircraft, is that understood?

** Discussed when Marshall, Major Caldwell and Agent Gibbs argue over who will be rescued (from the plane as it's crashing). Marshall insists on taking everyone, but the parajumper says he can only take one more. [[spoiler:Luckily Gibbs happens to be TheMole, [[TheReveal kills Caldwell, who wanted the President to leave them]], and suffers his KarmicDeath]].
--->'''Caldwell''': Mr. President, it's time for you to get off this plane! Go sir, go! Please, go!

--->'''Vice-President Kathryn Bennett''': What are your intentions?\\
'''Ivan Korshunov''': What arrogance to think you could ever understand my intentions.\\
'''Bennett''': I want to understand what it is that you want.\\
'''Korshunov''': What do I want...When Mother Russia becomes one great nation again, when the capitalists are dragged from the Kremlin and shot in the street, when our enemies run and hide in fear at the mention of our name, and when America begs our forgiveness...on that great day of deliverance, you will know what I want.

--> '''Marshall''': Never again will I allow our political self-interest to deter us from doing what we know to be morally right. Atrocity and terror are not political weapons. And to those who would use them, your day is over. We will never negotiate. We will no longer tolerate and we will no longer be afraid. It's your turn to be afraid.

-->'''Marshall''': ''[after Korshunov demands him to release Radek]'' I'll do anything to save my family. Don't ask something I can't give!
-->'''Korshunov''': The most powerful man on the earth. Suddenly, there are things you can't do. This is very curious. Stop with your fucking lies!

---> '''The President''': Get off my plane.

---> '''Halo Lead:''' Not so fast, you son of a bitch.

-->'''First Lady''': This isn't war. YOU JUST MURDERED AN UNARMED WOMAN!
-->'''Korshunov''': You, who murdered a hundred thousand Iraqis just to save a nickel on a gallon of gas, are going to lecture me on THE RULES OF WAR?! DON'T!

-->'''White House General''': Is he saying what I think he's saying?\\
'''Vice-President Bennett''': If we're going to act, we have to act now.\\
'''Defense Secretary Dean''': It's too risky.\\
'''Bennett''': The president is up there with a gun to his head!\\
'''General Northwood''': He's asking us to do that to Air Force One?\\
'''Bennett''': He's not asking. Your commander-in-chief has issued a direct order. Do it!

-->'''Operator''': Okay, mister, if you want to turn this into a federal crime, then ([[PunctuatedForEmphasis as she presses the last three keystrokes to start the trace]]) fine... by... me!\\

'''Secretary, over the phone, having done so''': [[OhCrap Oh, God]]... [[MyGodYouAreSerious I'll patch you over, Mr. President]].

* WhyWereBummedCommunismFell: While having the President finally at his mercy, Korshunov lays into him about how bad Russia has become since the dissolution of the Soviet Union and how the President helped create it with forcing “Americanization” on his people and the results it has created for the Russian and other former Soviet peoples.

--> '''Alice Marshall:''' You are a monster. And my father is a great man. You're nothing like my father.

* TheGreatPoliticsMessUp: The flick reflects the brief Yeltsin-era rapprochement between Russia and the U.S. Though to some extent, the villains are straightforward Russian bad guys, with a quick coat of post-Soviet updating.

---> '''Korshunov''': You, who murdered a hundred thousand Iraqis just to save a nickel on a gallon of gas, are going to lecture me on THE RULES OF WAR?! DON'T!

->''"Harrison Ford is the President of the United States."''