Air Force One Down

CinemaSerf

Was it really almost thirty years ago that Harrison Ford almost got killed on his Presidential plane by some dodgy folks from Eastern Europe? Well sadly we ought to have waited for a bit longer rather than churn out this derivative and weak distant cousin. The President (Ian Bohen) is travelling to seal an energy deal when his plane is hijacked by some nasties determined to thwart his plan. With the onboard body count mounting, it falls to his last remaining secret service agent "Allison" (Katherine McNamara) to save the day. This is her very first trip, so can she get him off the plane alive - and given they are over enemy territory, can she keep him that way until help arrives? There's the familiar face of go-to guy for baddies from this part of the world Radu Serbedzija and there are a few appearances from Anthony Michael Hall - who's acting hasn't improved much since the days of the 'Breakfast Club" (1985) but otherwise this is all very basic, low budget, single camera stuff that hasn't an original bone in it's body. It's scripted competently, I'd say, but the acting is very ordinary and the portrayal of the US President as the stereotypical all-action hero as adept with a machine gun as he is with a microphone just summed this whole rather daft thing up. It's down and it's out, I'm afraid. Avoid.