Executive Decision 1996

Although this is listed in the filmography of Steven Seagal movies, this is NOT a Steven Seagal movie. His face appears on (some of) the theatrical posters used when the film was released but that was to add to the pull. Executive Decision is a Kurt Russell movie. That's not a bad thing, but I always found it a bit misleading to promote Steven Seagal in this movie as his character plays very little more than (in the words of one review) "almost an extended cameo…". Oddly enough, Seagal's name doesn't even appear in the opening credits (I rolled it back multiple to see if I had missed it.) due to his having quite an insignificant role in the movie. Kurt Russell played his role well (no surprise; he's usually great in almost anything he does) and the supporting cast pulled off their characters also. My biggest hangup with Executive Decision is basically that it was far too long. They took a standard "terrorists hijack American plane; elite squad of US military commandos boards the plane, kills the bad guys, defuse the bomb, and rescue everyone" unoriginal plot and stretched that sucker out like a Stretch Armstrong. The opening scene seems to have very little to do with the movie until you get to the conclusion of the movie…which was almost hilariously reminiscent of the 1980 satire movie Airplane! with Leslie Nielsen. Indeed, I kept waiting for the inflatable co-pilot to suddenly appear with that cheesy grin on its face... Apart from being as slow as molasses in January, there was absolutely nothing original about this movie and like so many of its kind, it had plot holes big enough to fly Oceanic Airways Flight 323 through. For an all-around action movie, it was worth watching…provided you don't watch it with a cynical eye, like I did. Just be advised that, although his photo graces the poster and he does appear in it, Executive Decision is not a Steven Seagal movie. I don't regret watching it; it was fun, but once is plenty.

Executive Decision

It took me a while to realize that I had seen this as a boy, and though much more discerning now, and well aware that this type of film is America imperialist propaganda directly sanctioned by the Pentagon, I have to admit that it's a damned satisfying bit of action suspense with fun character moments played out by capable and charismatic actors at the top of their game (minus Segal, haha!) Speaking of Segal, if you haven't seen this before, don't let the opening scene with the mile-a-minute SEAL team murder spree put you off-- it's much messier than the rest of the film, and it's that way to provide contrast and context of a troubled backstory.

That said, this is not the kind of film to be taken as anything more than light, pulse-pumping, crowd pleasing entertainment, and that's exactly the mood I was in to see it. I knew it was going to be an amusing juxtaposition of characters for a "save America with a tactical longshot operation" when looking at the top billing of Segal, Russell, and Platt. The first tells you it's going to be schlocky, the second tells you it's got a great leading man, and the third tells you it's not going to take itself too seriously, and that the nerdy anchor will be played just as well as the lead.

Joe Morton actually ends up taking over duties as the team commander, and he and Platt make a great pair of "cool and competent" beside "scared but likeable civvy". David Suchet delivers a great turn as the charismatic and menacing antagonist, and plays the role with as much dignity and presence as possible given the GI Joe script. He's no Hugo Drax (from the film, not the book), but that's not Suche's fault-- Hassan only wanted to kill several million people --whereas Drax puts most supervilliains to shame with his godlike aspirations.

Halle Berry is capable and really telegraphs the tension with her beautiful, almost 1980s anime facial features (and haircut), and furtive body language. There's just enough chemistry between her and Russell that it works. It's not Sandra Bullock and Keanu Reeves in Speed, but there's not as much male/female lead time in this either.

It's a pity Andreas Katsulas had to do a fake accent and played such a small role in this, because otherwise he's an absolute joy to watch. Here he plays almost as much a role as Kurt Russell's test plane in his character introduction.

The technical aspects of the script all seemed competent enough, though I am admittedly quite ignorant regarding the finer points of avionics, and had nothing more to guess than what the script offered regarding "flaps!" and "landing gear!" It's always gratifying when the script allows you to guess something and you get it right just ahead of the characters. Likewise, there were similar moments with the computer elements and the altimeter in the bomb scene, and that and the gun stuff all seemed competently written.

There were the predictable bits of everything happening a little too conveniently, with certain characters surviving, no collateral civilian damage caused by the hero, and the simplistic (and insidious) "good guy Americans versus maniacle terrorist" plot. I was kind of rooting for Hassan to take out everyone on the Eastern Seaboard, because I gotta respect a man with a real vision for such a grandiose plan, but gosh, Kurt Russell is just such a charasmatic and relatable, chisel-jawed, White American protagonist, and you just gotta see if he's gonna take out the cute, spunky little brown-sugar flight attendant that's idealistically about ten years his junior.

In Closing...

I view films like this as a cultural relic, as if I'm discovering something from a bygone era, despite the fact that it's been barely a generation since it came out; it makes it easier to indulge in the fun while adding a layer of enjoyment that accompanies escapist fiction, which this certainly is. After all, it was one of the late films of this type before 9/11 changed the paradigm in American cinema and media dealing with this subject matter, where henceforth, everything had to be earnest and serious, but, of course, without actually being any more honest or realistic.