Executive Decision (1996)

User Rating:

6.2/10   

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 | Hostage | Jet | Bomb | Rescue

Awards:

2 wins & 2 nominations

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:

The face of Steven Seagal was added on German cinema posters/VHS covers to attract more viewers, as he is quite popular there.

Goofs:

Factual errors: Armed federal air marshals aren't listed as such on passenger manifests, since their modus operandi (and the extent to which they are used on commercial airplanes) is classified.

Quotes:

Nagi Hassan: I can see we're both men who truly understand the importance of making dramatic statements to the world.

Movie Connections:

Edited into Stealth Fighter (1999)

Surprise!

I am usually very picky about films and rarely watch action movies that don't have a nostalgic value but somehow I tuned into this one and I couldn't take my eyes off it. We're dealing with a flight hi-jacking and the situation has been seen before, but the way this story is told surprised me in a positive way.

It's trying to be realistic, and succeeds! Credits to the screenwriters for writing a story that everyone thinks they've seen before and still keeping the intensity throughout the film. Good acting from Kurt Russel, Oliver Blatt and especially John Leguizamp. This is an action-movie well worth watching. My rating: 7/10