Executive Decision (1996)

User Rating:

6.3/10   

Director:

Stuart Baird

Writers (WGA):

Jim Thomas (written by) &
John Thomas (written by)

Release Date:

15 March 1996 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Thriller

Tagline:

Fasten your seat belts

Plot:

When terrorists seize control of an airliner, an intelligence analyst accompanies a commando unit for a midair boarding operation.

Plot Keywords:

Terrorist | Jet | Bomb | Hostage | Rescue

Awards:

2 wins & 2 nominations

US TV Schedule:

Sat. Nov. 14	4:30 PM	AETV
Sun. Nov. 15	2:00 PM	AETV

Cast

Kurt Russell	...	Dr. David Grant
Steven Seagal	...	Lt. Colonel Austin Travis
Halle Berry	...	Jean, Flight Attendant
John Leguizamo	...	Captain Rat
Oliver Platt	...	Dennis Cahill
Joe Morton	...	Sergeant 'Cappy' Matheny
B.D. Wong	...	Sergeant Louie
Len Cariou	...	Secretary of Defense Charles White
Whip Hubley	...	Sergeant Baker
Andreas Katsulas	...	El Sayed Jaffa
Mary Ellen Trainor	...	Allison, Flight Attendant
Marla Maples	...	Nancy, Flight Attendant (as Marla Maples Trump)
J.T. Walsh	...	Senator Mavros
Ingo Neuhaus	...	Doc
William James Jones	...	Catman

MPAA:

Rated R for violence and brief language.

Runtime:

134 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital | SDDS | DTS

Certification:

USA:R (certificate #34433) | Iceland:14 (original rating) | Iceland:16 (video rating) | South Korea:15 | Malaysia:(Banned) | Netherlands:12 (TV rating) | Netherlands:16 | South Korea:12 (DVD rating) | Australia:M | Finland:K-14 | Germany:16 | Norway:15 | Portugal:M/12 | Spain:13 | Sweden:15 | UK:15 (cut)

Filming Locations:

Chino Airport, Chino, California, USA

Company:

Warner Bros. Pictures

Trivia:

Messages are received on the F-14 on a device called the CRM-115, obviously a reference to the CRM-114 in Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964).

Goofs:

Continuity: That display and the Pentagon's both have grid lines at latitude 45 north. On one display they're north of the line, and on the other, south.

Quotes:

Dr. David Grant: If you don't believe me, what are you doing up here?
Lieutenant Colonel Austin Travis: Well... who the hell else is gonna do it... you?

Movie Connections:

Referenced in JCVD (2008)

Soundtrack:

IT'S NICE TO GO TRAV'LING

Even Seagal is good!

A fun, tense, and exciting action/thriller with an excellent ensemble cast, headed by Kurt Russell and including Halle Berry, David Suchet, and John Leguizamo.

Even Steven Seagal does a creditable job, mainly because this isn't a "Steven Seagal movie." His supporting role permits him to do what he does best (which isn't acting). He doesn't have to pretend to be witty, there's none of that awful smirking he does in a vain attempt to show emotion, the camera doesn't caress his body, and there's not one speech about how gol-dang *good* his character is. He even manages to enunciate his lines clearly!

The plot might have seemed a little far-fetched when the movie was released, but not anymore.

I'm not even much of an action film fan, but this one is really a lot of fun.