Vague Visages’ Air Force One Down review contains minor spoilers. James Bamford’s 2024 movie on Apple features Katherine McNamara, Ian Bohen and Rade Šerbedžija. Check out the VV home page for more film reviews, along with cast/character summaries, streaming guides and complete soundtrack song listings.

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There’s plenty to enjoy within Air Force One Down, a standard B-movie that toys with action-thriller tropes. Katherine McNamara (Shadowhunters) stars as Allison Miles, a secret service agent who protects President Edwards (Ian Bohen) during a hijacking in the fictional country of Astovia. Written by Steven Paul, the film’s screenplay will presumably challenge impatient viewers via questionable first act political humor — such as the protagonist teaming up with Anthony Michael Hall’s “Uncle Sam” (a thematic spin on J. M. Flagg’s famous Americana poster) — and lazy character archetypes (i.e. Overly Confident Man Who Aggressively Eats While Talking). On the bright side, though, director James Bamford pairs exciting action choreography with Anton Bakarski’s fluid cinematography, resulting in some kick-ass bookend moments.

Air Force One Down’s inciting incident occurs when Allison gets mixed up in a political conspiracy during her first day of work. As President Edwards considers an energy deal with Astovia, a group of Astovian revolutionaries infiltrate Air Force One, all the while communicating with their Big Bad leader, Rodinov (Rade Šerbedžija). Allison relies on Uncle Sam for support but ends up alone with the commander-in-chief after parachuting to a farm. Bamford commits to extreme, sudden violence in Air Force One Down, only to back off while accommodating Paul’s inefficient character writing during the thin middle act.

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Things get weird in Air Force One Down when President Edwards unleashes some Jason Bourne-style fighting in the air before romancing Allison on the ground. McNamara’s protagonist begins the film by declaring her disgust for the privileged commander-in-chief, with the script always reinforcing her commitment to work. Suddenly, Air Force One Down turns into a late-night Cinemax movie from the 90s, complete with a room full of burning candles and topless characters gazing at each other. Bamford and Paul merely tease a possible hook-up, but all the forced romanticism feels unnecessary, even if some of the dialogue does indeed boost the character development. In short, the overall character sketch for Allison betrays her googly-eye behavior while shacked up with President Edwards.

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Air Force One Down hits all the right story beats when focused on Allison’s skill set. As the lead, McNamara conveys her character’s vulnerability via long stares during intense moments, almost like she’s been awakened to new realities. Once the romantic melodrama concludes, Allison quickly returns to kicking ass, with Bakarski’s impressive cinematography capturing the fight choreography from low angles; a blend of Hitman (2007), The Raid (2011) and John Wick (2014). Most B-level action flicks fizzle out after explosive middle act set-pieces, yet Air Force One Down actually gains momentum in the final act, primarily due to McNamara’s action star performance. The climax, however, feels like Paul didn’t know how to stick the landing, perhaps due to the weak (and borderline strange) romantic chemistry between Allison and President Edwards.

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Air Force One Down stalls during the middle act but ultimately finds it groove, choppy as the writing may be overall. I’m hesitant to recommend the film as a “fresh” selection for moviegoers, but it’s worth checking out if you’re cinematically adventurous and don’t associate bad or underwhelming movie experiences with “wasted time.” McNamara brings her A-game in Air Force One Down, regardless of what the scene calls for. Similarly, Bamford and his cinematographer elevate crucial sequences with their fight choreography. The script, however, needed a little more polish to vibe with the film’s R rating.

Air Force One Down released digitally on February 13, 2024 via Paramount Global Content Distribution.

Q.V. Hough (@QVHough) is Vague Visages’ founding editor.

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