Customer Reviews

Executive Decision [VHS]

5 star:		(33)
4 star:		(34)
3 star:		(13)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(8)

 

 

Okay, it's Die-Hard-on-an-airplane the way _Speed_ is Die-Hard-on-a-bus, _Under Siege_ is Die-Hard-on-a-battleship, and _The Rock_ is Die-Hard-at-Alcatraz. But it's a fine action flick and it beats the heck out of _Air Force One_.

I like Kurt Russell; to my mind he's never gotten the credit he deserves as an actor. And if (like me) you're not a big Steven Seagal fan, you'll be gratified to learn (about half an hour into the film) that he's _not_ the hero of the story.

This film probably couldn't have been made today. In the post-9/11 world, every moviemaker is carefully shying away from the 'Arab terrorist' stereotype; the screen adaptation of Tom Clancy's _The Sum of All Fears_ substituted neo-Nazis, and even the Gubernator took the safe route (using Columbian drug lords in _Collateral Damage_). But in fact, this script does a pretty good job of making clear that the head terrorist (David Suchet) is a loon who doesn't represent even the views of his collaborators, let alone those of the larger Arab/Muslim world.

Anyway, if you like a good action-suspense yarn, you'll like this one. Sure, parts of it are implausible, but less so than in lots of other good action films. And Russell makes an excellent hero.

This is an excellent action movie that is right now a Best Buy exclusive for now. I had seen this movie in theaters when first released and owned the dvd version of this movie also. There is one problem with the US release of this movie. On the rating marker on the back of the disc case it says some scenes were altered from the original version. What happen is they cut and shorten certain scenes in the movie to be after 911 freindly. You can do a search online to read on the various forums on what was taken out. This is a movie that was shown in theaters back in 1996 why would Warner Bros release a chopped up version of the movie onto blu ray is very disapointing. What I read was they took the censored overseas cut of the film and just released that version onto blu ray in the US. The original dvd and vhs release of the movie is the only uncut version of this film in the US. The good news is if you don't mind the minor edits the upgrade to blu ray is well worth it over the standard dvd. The picture quality is clean and sharp and looks like the movie was filmed recently for an older movie of the 90's. The sound and audio is also a big plus for the upgrade. The soundtrack to the movie was done by Jerry Goldsmith and sounds excellent on a good surround sound system. Wish movie studios would leave these older films alone the way they are instead of years later after the movie was released in theaters and dvd to censor the movie which is the reason why I knocked off 2 stars. Hope this helps with making an Executive Decision whether to purchase this movie or hold out and see if Warner Bros decides to release an uncut version of this film. Just wanted everyone to be informed for there are not many reviews out there on the US blu ray version of the movie yet.

Terrorists hijack a jumbo jet with over 400 passengers. Terrorist expert Dr David Grant (Kurt Russell) believes that the terrorists have nerve gas bombs on board and therefore, they can't let the plane enter US airspace, since the nerve gas could probably destroy the entire Washington DC. And they don't want to shoot them down, since that would lead to a big scandal. Instead, they send up a special military unit, led by Lieutenant Colonel Travis (Steven Seagal), to get on board the jumbo jet and take control over it. This turns out to be even more difficult than they had thought.

This is an action thriller that unfortunately doesn't seem as unrealistic now as it would've done some months ago, and some people would maybe prefer not to watch it because of the recent attacks. On the other hand, it could be interesting to watch because of that. Either way, it's a very good and well made movie. It's not so different from Air Force One and if you liked that one, you'll probably like this one and vice versa.
Steven Seagal's role is actually quite small, he's out of the movie after approximately half an hour, or even less, and you don't miss him. Kurt Russel, Oliver Platt, Halle berry and the other actors are good.

If you like quality action movies, here is one that will keep you at the edge of your seat for a little more than two hours. I really liked it!

Even though Executive Decision today would remind the viewing audience of the tragic, if not cowardly attacks made by Islamic terrorists on September 11, 2001 AD, it is still an entertaining and enjoyable action/suspensful/political thriller. I mean, if any film has Steven Segal killed off within the first 40 minutes of the picture (mirroring Roy Thinnes's demise in Airport 1975) and British actor David Suchet playing an excellent heavy, then it has to be worth watching.

Released in 1996 by Warner Brothers, Executive Decision was the directorial debut of British film editor Stuart Baird (Superman - The Movie and Outland). With the material he had been given by screenwriters Jim and John Thomas, Baird does an excellent, if not remarkable job in film direction. Especially when it comes to the staging and filming of the action sequences.

The plot of the storyline centers around a group of Islamic Terrorists from the Middle East who hijack a 747 en route from Athens to Washington DC. The Islamic extremists main plan is to force the release of a known terrorist leader, who had been captured and imprisoned by British and American military forces.
Unknown to some of the terrorists, their leader has smuggled a Soviet nerve toxin gas left over from the Cold War. A nerve gas hooked up to a bomb, which is controlled by an al-Queida sleeper agent. The real purpose of the terrorist leader is soon revealed. His plans are to use the 747 as a weapon and detonate the nerve agent over Washington, killing all citizens there and those living along most of the East Coast.

Enter into the picture a group of U.S. Army anti-terrorist commadoes, along with a intelligence analyst/field operative from the Pentagon and an aircraft designer. Their mission is to transfer from a U.S. Air Force stealth fighter onto the 747 in mid-air, locate the nerve toxin, deactivate the bomb, kill all of the terrorists and sleeper agents with extreme prejudice, re-take the plane, and ensure the safety of the passengers and flight crew. Easier said than done. With the help of a courageous flight attendant/stewardess and a U.S. Sky Marshal, it becomes a fight to the death five miles above the Earth, with the fate of the U.S. Capitol and the eastern seaboard hanging in the balance.

Better than Air Force One, The Delta Force, The Die Hard Trilogy, and the Under Siege films, Executive Decision pulls all the punches and the stops when it comes to high flying action and high octane political thrillers. With a cast that consists of Kurt Russell, David Suchet (in a non-Hercule Poirot role), Halle Berry, Whip Hubley, Oliver Platt, B.D.Wong, Joe Morton, John Leguizamo, Andreas Katsulas, the late Charles Hallahan and J.T. Walsh, it is an ultimate winner in explosive action and political thrillers. Even the soundtrack by veteran composer Jerry Goldsmith is explosive and excellent. One of his best soundtracks since the 1968 version of Planet Of the Apes.

If you enjoy films that deal with politics, the U.S. Government's policy of not negotiating with terrorists, and the right-winged, if not the best way, to eliminate Middle Eastern terrorism, then Executive Decision is the film for you. Civilian, veteran, any patriotic citizen who wants to stop terrorism dead in its tracks!

My attention was fixed to the TV like never before the first time I saw this come on cable. We need more films that can generate suspense as well as this did. But did they really have to have Kurt Russell's character get his foot stuck in that..."thing on the wall" near the end of the film? I think the movie producers could have come up with a better (and more believable) way to hinder him for the situation he was in. There goes the 5th star.
But, holy cow, did any movie foretell 9/11 better than this one? Airline security employees should have been made to watch this; maybe at least some of them would have believed an event like 9/11 was more probable and taken their job more seriously, preventing the disaster.

C'mon, that says it all, man. He dies! That alone is worth this movie. (In fact, I never watched past his death, but I figured it deserved 5 stars for that alone. More movies should do this.)

Despite the plot has been taken into screen so many times, this well handled and better written script around a group of terrorist fanatics who demand the liberation of an important leader , threatening an airplane with 400 passengers on board, is filled of histamine along the plot because it has several dramatic nerves to resolve.

Excellent effort of Kurt Russell, Halle Berry and Sauchet as the leader terrorist.

Kurt Russell stars as a suit-and-tie Intelligence analyst who ends up leading a crack Special Ops unit in the rescue of a hijacked US passenger plane which coincidentally has a bomb onboard. They have until US airspace to defuse the bomb--or the US will have no choice but to blow the plane up. The action's fast and the humor in places is politically irreverent. This is definitely one to own and watch again and again.

Though director Stuart Baird helped mangle the "Star Trek" franchise with the last "Next Generation" movie outting, his "Executive Decision" deserves a look by fans of the action genre. Kurt Russell plays a Jack Ryan-like intelligence operative swept into a covert assault on a hijacked airliner. Along for the ride are a crack team of commandos, played by such familiar faces as B.D. Wong, John Leguizamo, and Joe Morton, that tries to defuse a nerve gas bomb and rescue a plethora of hostages, including Halle Berry as a sympathetic flight attendant. Despite its similarities to "Die Hard" and "Air Force One" (and, eerily, some of the 9/11 goings-on), "Executive Decision" manages to establish itself as a unique effort through a combination of humanized characters and a plot that keeps ratcheting up the stakes. The movie is even gutsy enough to kill off Steven Seagal's character, who gets a nice John Wayne moment that is more salutory than most of his onscreen efforts. Fans of the "Poirot" mysteries may be surprised to see David Suchet as the villain here, but he deserves special note for taking a one-dimensional figure and giving him both menace and intelligence. Jerry Goldsmith provides a strong score, and though some airplane model work, especially at the end, is rather obvious, the film's production overall is suitably believable.

Where do I start? First of all, Executive Decision is definitely NOT an action movie. Everyone who didn't like it is probably just bitter because they expected non stop fighting between soldiers and terrorists. If that's what you want, try Die Hard or Passenger 57. Executive Decision works more on suspense. In fact, the terrorists have no idea the soldiers are on the plane until the last 20 minutes! Until then, they hide out above and below the passenger area while trying to come up with a plan for taking the terrorists out. Also, they can't risk fighting the terrorists until they defuse a bomb in the luggage area, because one of the terrorists is masquerading as a passenger and would instantly set it off. The thrills are delivered non-stop in a very realistic Tom Clancy like fashion. In fact, the only thing I think could make it better would be if Clancy was actually an advisor or writer.