July 25, 1997 | Fairly early in Air Force One, the turbo-charged thriller about a terrorist plot to skyjack the title airplane, there's a scene that vividly illustrates why Harrison Ford is such a big-deal movie star.

If you've seen the lobby poster, you already know that Ford is the President of the United States. And if you've seen the trailer or the TV spots, you're aware that the terrorists -- led by Mr. Bad Vibes himself, Gary Oldman -- are radical Russian reactionaries who want to use the chief executive as a pawn to force the release of their imprisoned leader. So I'm not giving away anything by saying that, yes, the terrorists do take over the plane, and, no, they don't get their hands on the president. At least, not at first.

President James Marshall (Ford) isn't just a telegenic leader of the free world. He's also a Medal of Honor-winning war hero who knows a thing or two about hand-to-hand combat. Shortly after the terrorists reveal themselves, Marshall races to a lower level of the plane and ejects the presidential escape pod. This fools the bad guys into thinking Mr. President has taken a powder. In reality, though, our hero is still on board the massive aircraft, hiding in the shadows and biding his time, desperately improvising a one-man rescue mission.

It's difficult to think of another bankable Hollywood leading man who could be more credible than Harrison Ford as a U.S. President. True, it's a bit of stretch to imagine him pressing the flesh and posing for photographers while trudging through the snows of New Hampshire during primary season. But whenever he has to look and sound presidential here, Ford has all the right moves -- the matter-of-fact authority while dealing with underlings, the purposeful passion and camera-savvy body language during a major policy speech. Better still, Ford charmingly convinces the audience that, even when the news cameras aren't around, President Marshall is a warmly affectionate husband for the First Lady (Wendy Crewson), and a warily attentive father for the First Daughter (Liesel Matthews).

Of course, since President Marshall is Harrison Ford, it's also entirely believable that he could, and would, spring into action when his wife and child, along with several other innocent bystanders, are placed in harm's way by terrorists. But even while he's handling the requisite rough stuff, Ford remains in character. Much as he did in The Devil's Own, Ford effortlessly conveys a sense of decency, along with a hint of hard-won wisdom, as he subtly indicates that, if his character had any say in the matter, he would much prefer to find some nonviolent way of handling the situation.

Nowhere is this clearer than in the scene that features President Marshall's first one-on-one confrontation with a gun-wielding bad guy. Marshall manages to disarm the villain, but, of course, things don't end there. They duke it out, one thing leads to another, and Marshall traps his opponent in a headlock. In a more conventional action movie with a more conventional action hero, Marshall would snap the guy's neck, and that would be that. But Ford's Marshall hesitates.

You can read everything he's thinking in the actor's eloquently expressive face: Marshall realizes he must silence the terrorist, to make sure the other bad guys don't hear his cry for help, but he'd really rather not do what he knows he has to do. For just a second, Ford darts his eyes this way and that, as though he's frantically looking for something, anything, any way, to keep the bastard quiet. But there isn't anything to be found, and so -- snap! The deed is done, but it's obvious that Marshall took no pleasure in it.

And the audience gets the best of both worlds: A hero of rare decency and fortitude who nonetheless can kick ass when ass-kicking is only option. Which is a large part of why Harrison Ford is the star that he is.

As for the movie itself, Air Force One is one of the better summer blockbusters. Director Wolfgang Petersen is very good at generating maximum suspense in a claustrophobic setting -- remember, this is the same guy who made Das Boot -- and he even manages to restrain Gary Oldman from chewing up too much of the scenery. Back on the ground in Washington, D.C., some fine supporting players, including Glenn Close as the Vice President and Dean Stockwell as the Secretary of Defense, are persuasively  anxious as they argue about military options and chains of command.

Throughout the second half of  the drama, Petersen relies a bit too heavily on familiar-looking special effects -- exploding jets, guided missiles, people dangling precariously from ropes during mid-air rescues. But whenever Air Force One threatens to become just another big-bang extravaganza, Harrison Ford is there demonstrate that, sometimes, star power is the most special effect of them all.