Customer Reviews

Executive Decision (Widescreen/Full Screen)

5 star:		(23)
4 star:		(20)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

XXXXX

"I hope there's a good movie on this flight."

The above is said by a U.S. commando as he secretly boards a hijacked civilian plane. (Two flight attendants on this plane are played by Halle Berry and Marla Maples Trump, former wife of "The Donald.")

This is what this movie is about: a group of commandos attempting to take back control of an Oceanic Airlines Flight 343 Boeing 747. Actually, it's a bit more complicated.

You have to get anti-terrorist commandos secretly onboard a hijacked plane that's in flight and make sure all 406 passengers are not harmed. As well, the Islamic terrorists have a sophisticated and deadly nerve gas ("DZ-5") bomb on the plane that will explode if there's an attempt at landing. Detonation is controlled remotely by a terrorist disguised as one of the passengers. (This person is known as the "sleeper" or "trigger man.")

The leader of the terrorists is the ruthless Nagi Hassan (David Suchet, taking on quite a different role from his excellent portrayal of Agatha Christie's Inspector Hercule Poirot).

A plan to save the plane and passengers is concocted by government officials with the help of Dr. David Grant (Kurt Russell) who is a "consultant to U.S. military army intelligence," commando leader Lieutenant Colonel Austin Travis (Steven Seagal without his ponytail), and engineer Dennis Cahill (Oliver Platt).

Everything does not go according to plan. Four commandos (one played by John Leguizamo as "Rat" and another one played by Joe Morton as "Cappy") get secretly onboard the hijacked plane that`s in flight. By accident, Dr. Grant and engineer Cahill also wind up on this plane.

Steven Seagal fans will be disappointed. He only appears in the first 45 minutes of this movie. (As well, his name is not even mentioned in the opening credits.)

This movie has a lot of action that keeps you involved. In other words, adrenaline junkies won't be disappointed. As well, there is good drama.

All the acting in this movie was quite good (even though Steven Seagal was nominated for a "Razzie"). But I have to give special kudos to both David Suchet and Kurt Russell for their fine performances.

This movie presents a lot of hi-tech. But it's low-tech Morse Code and engineer Cahill's low-tech "magic wand" that turn out to be lifesavers.

The background music adds to each scene.

I liked the singing of Frank Sinatra over the end credits. I thought this was a nice touch.

This is somewhat of a unique movie. It could not be made today in light of 9/11.

Oh! Incidentally, "executive decision" means a decision made by the President of the United States.

Finally, the DVD (released in 2010) has two extras. One of the extras are "Production Notes" and I found that the information they provided to be interesting.

In conclusion, in reference to the quotation that begins this review, I don't know if Flight 343 had a good movie. But I DO know that this is a good, exciting movie!!

(1996; 2 hr, 10 min; wide screen; 36 scenes)

<<Stephen PLETKO, London, Ontario, Canada>>

XXXXX

i had watched Executive Decision maybe 5 years ago and i remember
enjoying it then.however,i was more impressed this time.Kurt Russel
does a good job as on of the heroes of the piece.a great supporting
cast surrounds Russel.Halle Berry is very convincing in her role.
Steven Seagal makes an appearance,giving another one of his usual
wooden performances.thankfully he is not the star of the movie.there
are some great action sequences,but the film's focal point is more one
of dramatic suspense.and there are some nail biting moments.these are
handled very well by both the director and the actors.The bad guys are
well represented,all giving fine performances.The main villain is
played by brilliant actor David Suchet,who really inhabits his
character.you really hate this guy.There is not a lot of character
development,but that does not detract from the quality of the film.the
script is very tightly written,which helps to overcome the very
unlikelihood of the plot.the only other minor complaint i have is that
in some of the flying scenes,it is apparent that the scenes are
simulated.but this is a minor issue.overall an above average
suspense/action flick 3.5/5.

Director: Stuart Baird
Cast: Kurt Russell, Steven Seagal, Halle Berry, John Leguizamo, Oliver Platt, Joe Morton, David Suchet, Len Cariou, B.D. Wong, Marla Maples Trump.
Running Time: 135 minutes.
Rated R for violence and language.

Although it is a formula that has been used time and time again, "Excecutive Decision" succeeds just as well, if not better, than the "hostage-takes-over-plane-so-action-hero-has-to-come-to-rescue" genre predecessors because of wonderful performances, an in-depth and enjoyable script, and top-tier direction from rookie Baird. Very simliar to 1992's "Passenger 57" staring Wesley Snipes, but with more emphasis on the supporting cast instead of one central star.

Kurt Russell stars as a United States government expert on Middle East terrorism who finds himself out of his office and on a die-or-die mission with gung ho commando Steven Seagal and Co. when an American airliner is taken hostage while in midair. Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on how you look at it), Seagal is killed about a half an hour into the film, allowing Russell to take full command of the film. With the help from gorgeous flight attendant Halle Berry, Russell is able to learn about the situation and guide his great supporting players John Leguizamo, Oliver Platt, and Joe Morton as to how they need to approach the dangerous situation.

If there is one major drawback of the film, it is that "Executive Decision" is fairly fairfetched and predictable at the same time--the anti-terrorist crew actually gets onto the plane while it is in the air and without the terrorists knowing--come on! But despite some of its logical fallouts, it is a film that makes up for it with a superb lead role, fine performances from Platt as a brainiac and Leguizamo as a rough-and-tough go-getter, and a gut-wrenching, thrill-ride (literally) of a finale. A nice directorial debut. One of the better action films of the mid 1990's and is on par with other plane thrillers such as "Con Air".

While this movie seems just mediocre at the start, partially due to the hero role that Steven Seagal is put into, after the first twenty minutes it greatly improves. When the James Bond like scientist proves Seagal's character wrong we finally see that this movie has hope. Once Seagal's character falls to his death at 30,000 feet, the movie loses its stigma of just another action movie and opens a new avenue to the remaining characters. This then forces Russell's character into a lead position, allowing him to gain respect by one of the nation's top military strike teams. What really made this movie seem interesting was how it veered from the original action movie storyline, to a suspense action movie. Overall, this is a movie that I can, surprisingly, watch time and time again.

another terrorist movie....another waste of video.
the lead terrorist played by xxx is pretty good.....but thats about it.
when the guy is in a neckbrace and trying to explain the bomb?.....is a bomb for the rest of the vid...this movie sucked and if you buy it?.....your taste in movies is rated zero stars.
burn it

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.)

EXECUTIVE DECISION is a nailbiting ride, reminding us even more of the horror of 9/11 and the continued terrorist activities still troubling our globe.
Director Stuart Baird assembles a fine cast and does his action sequences in tight, nerve-wracking fashion. It's nice too for a change to see our government bigwigs portrayed a little more humane and realistic. Credit to Len Cariou, Nicholas Pryor, and others. Kurt Russell is in good heroic form as our reluctant hero; Steven Seagal is mercifully given a glorious cameo; John Lequizamo, BD Wong, Joe Morton and Whip Hubley are fine in their command roles; Halle Berry is beautiful and efficient as Jean, the stewardess; Oliver Platt is at his best as the nervous enginner called on to be a bomb defuser, and David Suchet is irreprehensibly evil as the lead terrorist.
A thrilling escapist film, well done!

Well, the dvd itself is not a big deal. There is no commentaries or special features. And it seems like they are not going to release special edition of this movie. The quality of the picture is really good. Just like film.
This movie is the only movie that has Steven Segal dies in the beginning...I was so surprised when I saw that happened. But this movie overall is fun and cool. Casting is just perfect. See for yourself.

Enjoyed the film especially the casting but where is the action? I don't like "action" movies without action. There is some suspense though. The cast is great with everyone from David Suchet (Poirot) playing a villain to Leguizamo, Berry and Steven Seagal who gets ousted in the first few minutes.

There are few topics more relevant today than that of Islamic terrorism, as the free world fights back against this demonic evil. And this film was made 5 years before the 911 massacre.
Palestinian terrorists hijack a Flight 747 en route from Athens and Washington D.C, and it is discovered that they are carrying on the plane, a deadly nerve toxin, in quantities that can destroy half of the USA.
Kurt Russell plays a US Intelligence whiz kid who discovers the whole evil plot, and Steven Seagal, the air force colonel, in charge of the operation.
David Suchet plays the terrorist killer, who leads the band of vicious skyjackers.

And the gorgeous Halle Berry plays the heroic airhostess, who helps to foil the plan by the terrorists.
The sexy Marla Maples Trump plays a cameo role as another airhostess.

The tension and fear is palpable, and the difficulty, which the anti-terror team pulls off the operation against the terrorists, is shown in its full realism and difficulty, in contrast to the surrealistic ease of a 007.
It is always good to steal ourselves for the titanic fight ahead of us between the free world and the Satanic Islamic/Palestinian terror network.