Most critics like Air Force One, and none dislike it. Five of the eight reviews are positive and the other three are mixed, which puts the consensus in the recommending range. The praise gathers in two places. Harrison Ford’s president is called charismatic and commanding throughout, and Petersen’s direction is credited with building and holding tension inside the confined space of the aircraft. The stunt-filled midair sequences come up repeatedly as the film’s main pleasure.
The reservations are about familiarity rather than failure. The New York Times finds the relentless action offers few surprises, and Total Film thinks the film leans too hard on clichés and on flag-waving American patriotism, though both still find it entertaining. The spread is narrow: even the cooler notices land around the middle, and nobody argues the film does not work on its own terms. The Hollywood Reporter is the most enthusiastic, treating it as political drama as well as thriller.