Air Marshal (2003) Reviews

• I can't believe I watched the WHOLE Thing!!

  wayno252003-12-28

  My first clue should have been when I saw the opening scene graphics....LYBIA!? Just where is that? You have so-called "special forces" teams that don't secure their terrorist captives, who run into a terrorist stronghold with no idea of how to get back out and who leave when the job's half done! I, as a former US Navy SEAL, am outraged. Whatever happened to the concept of "technical assistance" (and, for that matter, continuity). This movie gives new meaning to the term "disaster film". Where did scarface, the Mexican computer genius, come from. After 2 years his face still hadn't healed? I particularly liked the scene where the flight crew are engaging in banter in some country in "Eastern Europe"...right, one where the buildings have Greek lettering on them. And the plane, boss...the plane! According to electronic map, the transponder (which was turned off, I believe) showed that they were crossing Italy at a speed approaching 3500 mph. And while we're on that subject, it would have been nice to have a shot of a REAL plane in flight and REAL scenery instead of 57 minutes of MS Flight Simulator 2003 graphics. I hope Bill Gates got his money up front and didn't have to wait for box office receipts. I really think that the Director and Producer of this monumental tribute to video trash should be heavily fined and sent to bed without supper. Try as I might, I can find no connection between the opening scenes and the rest of the movie. Does the Writer or Director have ANY idea of the Chain of Command that flows downward from the President? Do they honestly think that a pre-pubescent, squeaky-voiced "suit" can order a military strike on a civilian target in a sovereign nation? WHO ARE THESE PEOPLE? Please, stop them before they make another movie.

• Going down fast...

  noothergod2004-10-02

  There is not one category in which I can rate this movie positively... but I'll try anyway. Plot: Nope. Other posters have beaten this one to death. Military accuracy: My ROTC friend kept screaming that the Special Forces guys were using the wrong guns. He also tells me that the Navy doesn't use F-16s. I'll take his word on all that. I was annoyed at the clumsy way in which the alleged elite troops crouch-walked towards the hostile gunmen near the airport. Also, the fact that a White House fund raiser was authorized to make decisions involving missile strikes on civilians rather bothered me. Physical accuracy: This just totally lost me. The plane didn't depressurize, nor did oxygen masks deploy, when the window blew out (a good half hour after it was shot, mind you). The CGI plane kept pitching and yawing at angles that can't happen. The shooters would frequently aim at other things (like the floor), yet their targets would fall back, shot in places only a magic bullet could reach. The list goes on. Acting: Ha. The generic terrorists, who spoke perfectly articulated English, were so boring in their desires that I often wondered why they were even bothering. The "scared passengers" were more annoyed than anything, which made their presence annoying to the viewers. And Mr. Shirtless Dean Cain Wannabe was just sad. Fight sequences: Competent stage acting, better than some films I've seen, but in no way what you'd call "good." Plane realities: All wrong. I like how the pilot was from the school of flying that teaches top speed landings, without wing flaps, and while pointing the nose down. The internal layout of the plane did not come close to matching the external CGI shell. The hurricane-sized storm they fly through takes all of a minute and a half to get through. The speed at which they are tracked on the map (using a transponder that was shut off) is ludicrously fast. And I'm sorry, but the ability to land a prop lane in an IMac flight simulator should not convey any skill to pilot a commercial jet. Sequels: Okay, so this is the one area that I can say something good. There is no sequel to Air Marshal. However, there are other films in the American Heroes series to which Air Marshal belongs.

• Takes the Cake

  jpc10122005-08-19

  Air Marshal is one of the most pathetic and disgraceful pieces of work ever done since the dawn of civilization. I can not imagine any of the people involved being able to go home and look at themselves in the mirror and believe that they earned an honest days work. Lets start from the beginning, some of the worst possible acting that has ever occurred on the face of the planet. The corny lines, where "BRETT PRESCOTT" tried to be funny, are absolutely the biggest farce in the world. Um, next would be the plot. Completely terrible, difficult to follow considering there is not logical sequence, and it down right sucks. Lybia, I believe is spelled Libya, but hey, Who's counting? These special forces are rebels without a clue. The hand signals that BRETT uses really show how great of a leader he is. Then they raid the building, and have a stare down for a while. Then they finally decide to shoot, and they don't hold back one bit. They pepper the place pretty good leaving nothing behind. Then when exiting the building, instead of leaving out the front door, they decide to bomb through a stone wall, in genius. Last of all, they fail the mission by letting the hostage kill himself. Great job guys!!! Finally this takes us to the plane. Was it me, or did the constant touching of the little boy by everyone, kinda make you cringe. Anyways, I'm not sure how many times that I counted PRESCOTT getting his ass beat, getting his gun taken away, getting passengers shot and killed, and basically screwing up. Speaking of people getting killed, did anyone notice as soon as someone got the slightest flesh wound, they would instantly die ex... the pilot, the terrorist with the hatchet that barely nicked his back. These terrorists were real smart cookies. They had numerous times to kill PRESCOTT, but no they don't. Instead they kill the biggest threat, the guy with the phone and of course the Buddhist. Wow good choices. The intel guys in DC really kept their composure well. I feel so much safer since 9/11 when dingleberries like that make decisions that affect our national security. Then that brings us to the HIspanic partners in all of this. Um...WHO THE HELL WERE THEY??????? Oh well, no explanation. Then the Senator, who by the way was apparently butt buddies with the president, decided to make the ultimate sacrifice and said "Lets Roll." Galliant effort, as one flesh wound completely halted their lackluster efforts. Great job guys. Way to take one for your country. Finally, the kid who decided to stroll up to the cockpit, which was okay by the way, helped land the plane. Hmmm. when the movie ended wasn't their still one terrorist still on the plane that was unaccounted for??? Ahh who cares anyway, PRESCOTT did his country proud. One of the worst movies in history, but funny enough, I've enjoyed making fun of it so much, I guess you could consider it entertaining after all. Thanks for reading this.

• Pretty bad

  d3-12005-08-25

  If you like fake Hollywood cookie-cutter movies, this is the film to beat. Despite being overtly explicit with its support of racial profiling and portraying Muslim Arabs as terrorists and big hunky white guys as heroes, the plot line is overly-predictable and the characters shallow and annoying. The acting isn't bad, nothing too amateurish though. Certainly written in the post 9-11 heyday, continuing the Hollywood stance of marginalizing targeted branded minorities of the sorts done in Air Force One and True Lies. Also, the camera shakes throughout the movie, simulating the plane flying through air - gets annoying.

• The Worst

  louis_vanden_broecke2010-09-09

  Others have already pointed to the stereotypes in connection with 9/11. I will focus on tech details of the aircraft. An American crew that operates a simulated (Russian) Tupolev 134 with a Bulgarian registration! They even had an elevator in the plane to make the audience believe this was a 747. The designer of the cockpit must have been either delirious or suffer from another major psychiatric disorder. That also goes for the special effects people. The airplane movements were totally unrealistic and probably the result of a doped flight simulator sequence. The film was aired by a commercial TV-station. It was enough to switch off after 10 minutes. It couldn't be more incredible.