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:

When it is time for Dr. Grant - a student pilot who has not yet soloed - to try landing a 747, he does several things extraordinarily correctly. He recognizes that he does not know the limitations of his plane, and asks for the Pilot Operating Handbook. Also correct is the federal requirement to have the POH available on the flight deck at all times. He understands that every plane has an approach & landing speed or it will pancake on touchdown. He almost stalled the plane by slowing with out extending the flaps but he worked it out as a competent person would and he figured out the next alarm quickly about the landing gear. Finally, when faced with an obviously too-high approach, he realized that he did not have the expertise to turn around as the flight attendant suggested, but he got his bearings and located the small field that he was taking lessons at and set the plane down there even though he ended up off the end of the runway. His knowledge of this complex airplane is probably because he took his flying lessons in a plane with a powerful engine and retractable landing gear, which is the only truly unrealistic aspect - 99% of student pilots will learn to solo in the smallest, cheapest, and least complex trainer available.

Goofs:

Factual errors: In the scene where the airport crash trucks are responding from their station, city fire trucks (the red ones) are responding through the station - in the back doors and out the front - to make the shot look like a lot of rigs are responding. If city rigs were responding to the airport, they would be called a significant time after the air-side rigs were sent, and would report to a holding point somewhere other than the air-side fire station.

Quotes:

Dr. David Grant: It's over.
Nagi Hassan: Over? It's not over. (Grant holds up the detonator).
Dr. David Grant: It's over.
Nagi Hassan: Who are you?
Dr. David Grant: No-one.
Nagi Hassan: You're very clever, but you're too late. You've solved nothing.
[fires his gun into the cockpit]

Movie Connections:

Edited into Stealth Fighter (1999)

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.