Executive Decision (1996)

Back in the '90's, the enduring success of Die Hard helped inspire a slew of action thrillers often focusing on one protagonist taking on a group of terrorists within a confined space....and SEVERAL of them took place on airplanes including Air Force One, Passenger 57, and Con Air.  Amidst that crop came this well-liked and successful incarnation taking place on a commercial airplane headed from overseas to Washington, DC.....and hijacked by terrorists who are not only threatening to kill the hundreds of hostages on board but also bringing a dangerous bio-weapon to the launch on the East Coast. :o Fortunately potentially standing in their way are more than just ONE lone man....a savvy CIA analyst (Kurt Russell), several Navy Seals (John Leguizamo, BD Wong, Joe Morton, Whip Hubley), and one brainy bomb expert (Oliver Platt).  They have ALL stowed away in the luggage cabin of said plane.....not to mention there's one brave stewardess (Halle Berry) on board who might help them.  AND Steven Seagal plays a role too! :) Directed by Stuart Baird (U.S. Marshalls, Star Trek Nemisis), let's get on board and fasten our seatbelts....

Host & Editor: Geoff Gershon
Producer: Marlene Gershon 

Transcript

EXECUTIVE DECISION - 1996

Directed by Stuart Baird

Starring Kurt Russell, Halle Berry, Steven Seagal, John Leguizamo, Oliver Platt, Joe Morton, David Suchet, BD Wong, Len Cariou, Whip Hubley, Andreas Katsulas, Mary Ellen Trainor, Marla Maples, and JT Walsh

Genre: Action Thriller (Audio clip)

HOT TAKE (Only about 30 years too late):
 This Die Hard-on-a-Plane techno-thriller got completely overshadowed by two bigger versions (The Rock, Air Force One) of the same type of story which would come out over the next 18 months...and THIS is the BEST version. 

Despite those two other movies being directed by more seasoned action pros Michael Bay and the late, great Wolfgang Peterson. This was actually the directorial debut of editor Stuart Baird....one of only three which he would direct amidst a lustrous career of editing several classic genre films including Lethal Weapon, Skyfall, and Superman....and the editing here is TOP flight. ;)

Having seen this in theaters and video quite a few times and not for a couple of decades, I had forgotten just how damn TENSE this movie is. For much of its 140 minute runtime, there are at least four different narrative threads running at the same time. At the center of it, you of course have star Kurt Russell playing a "think tank" security analyst named David trying to prevent a potentially devastating terrorist attack which is potentially coming to the DC area courtesy of a hijacked passenger plane....but of course he has lots of help which is part of what elevates this movie. He's surrounded by a great cast.....

Onboard this plane though most of them are hiding in avionics....you have John Leguziamo, Joe Morton, BD Wong, and Whip Hubley as Navy Seals plus a tech whiz played by Oliver Platt AND a brave stewardess on board, Jean played by Halle Berry....pretty much revisiting the Sandra Bullock role from Speed she had passed on two years prior. And they're all great. You also have the main villain.....a Middle Eastern terrorist named Nagi who has gotten too extreme for HIS superiors played by the British/Lithuanian actor David Suchet most famous for playing Belgian detective mastermind Hercule Poirot. 😜 Because this WAS the '90's and I guess neither Robert Forster nor Art Malik were available....

Hey Suchet is actually quite effective as well, he's a chilly mixture of righteousness and paranoia...and of course he also has the late, great JT Walsh on board playing the Ellis (from Die Hard) role as an opportunistic Senator. 🤗 

Honesty a big part of the fun of this movie is there is always someone doing something interesting on-screen. We're planting mini-cameras, rerouting the power supplies of bombs, sending coded messages through landing lights, making stealth calls on on-board phones....there's just SO many intricate technical things going on, it just really benefits the overall story to have nothing but great faces performing these tasks....

In the lead role, Russell brings the heat of course, even playing a more straight-laced, wonkish version of the hero types he has always excelled at. He's charming, intelligent, and still up for the action beats we had come to expect from at this point. 

Best Needledrop (best song cue or score used throughout runtime of film): 

The late, great Jerry Goldsmith was always one of my personal favorites….delivering memorable scores for genre films going back to the ‘60’s including the original Planet of the Apes.  He does the orchestral score for this film – it’s sufficiently rousing, tense, etc…..and it STILL sounds so similar to many other genre scores he was doing around this time INCLUDING two films which came out later that year: Star Trek First Contact AND Air Force One.  Not one of his best it does the job… (Audio clip) 

That said, I LOVE the ending of this film and the old school ditty which closes it out….the plane has landed, everyone is safe on the runway, and we see David give a nice salute/wave to the Navy Seals whom he partnered with on that harrowing flight….just a nice moment. (Audio clip)

But even better….and this where the ending none-too-subtly homages the endings of both Die Hard and Die Hard 2.  Jean comes over, he asks her out, and off they are escorted off as the credits kick in with a some old school horns…..but it’s not “Let It Snow.”  The song is from the late, great Francis Albert Sinatra born in Hoboken, NJ….nicknamed, “Ol Blue Eyes.”  That’s right FRANK SINATRA…..this might actually be the FIRST time a Sinatra song has won this category which is CRAZY!  And the song comes from his 1958 album, “Come Fly With Me”…..though the song is NOT “Come Fly With Me.” Hmmm…..not sure why though by this point in ’96, that song was already used in multiple films or maybe this other song was cheaper.  Regardless, the song also kind of fits the plot and the setting – it’s one of Sinatra’s more obscure tunes but no less catchy,  It’s the lovely “It’s Nice To Go Trav’ling.” (Audio clip) 

Wasted Talent (most under-utilized talent involved with film): 

There's a load of "that guys" also filling out the cast....and that of course leaves Steven Seagal as the co-lead to Russell....sort of. Despite all of the troubling behind-the-scenes drama regarding his behavior on this movie – and what was ultimately coming to light about him as a person UGH - I can even confidently say that HE makes the most of his screentime playing the Head Seal.  I can remember it being quite surprising when I first saw this but it was pretty much indicative of where his status as a movie star was headed by this point in ’96….could I have used maybe ONE more scene of him breaking a bad guy’s arm?  Sure….but having his Lt. Travis meet his end SO early in this story does effectively raise the stakes for every other major character from that point on. (Audio clip) 

Trailer Moment (scene or moment that best describes this movie):

Here’s the thing about this movie as opposed to most of the other Die Hard-inspired films from this time period – even the ones taking place mostly on planes such as Con Air or previous episode Passenger 57 – Executive Decision is actually VERY light on action.  There are maybe THREE genuine setpieces throughout the 130 minute runtime….but that’s ok because SO much of it is about the build-up and sustaining of tension, many close calls. (Audio clip) 

Given that, my personal favorite moment occurs around the 90 minute market with an incident which pretty much kicks off the third act.  By this point, our remaining heroes hidden away in the luggage cabin below of this plane have done ALL of the reconnaissance that they can do….but they now NEED help in locating where exactly in the main cabin of the plane this bomb is located.  And THAT’s where Halle Berry’s Jean comes in…..they try to call her on the courtesy phone near the stewardess station, David starts to explain the situation to her and what they need.  Then Nagi comes out of the blue, strikes her, and threatens to shoot her….it’s EXTREMELY tense and yet such a quiet scene.  Then Jean makes a decision…..the interaction between her, Russell’s David, and Leguizamo’s Rat is tight and effective here.  Just a STRONG moment.   (Audio clip) 

MVP (person or people most responsible for the success of this film):

From a technical standpoint, the sky-based effects work is surprisingly convincing for '96....and Baird really does an effective job of keeping 95% on board of this one plane. It's both claustrophobic but also expansive as we gradually learn of ALL of the various hiding places you could creep within such a large plane....

And the main reason I would choose this over other air-based thrillers from this era is simple....the story stays FOCUSED from beginning to end and all of our protagonists stay relatable throughout. There aren't constant ham-fisted attempts at humor  nor jingoism stopping the story in its tracks.  For directing a very tense A-B-C story told with confidence and precision, Stuard Baird is the MVP.  (Audio Clip)

Final Rating: 4.4 stars out of 5 

Happy 30th Anniversary to one of the more underrated Die Hard-inspired thrillers of the ‘90’s!

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And that ends another HIGH ALTITUDE review!