EXECUTIVE DECISION
Aspect ratio: 2.39:1 (Panavision)
Sound formats: Dolby Digital / DTS / SDDS
Normally, the name Steven Seagal would be enough to send any self-respecting movie fan screaming from theaters in a state of advanced colonic distress, but he makes only a brief appearance in this barnstorming blockbuster as the leader of a crack commando unit who is unceremoniously dumped (literally) from a great height during a botched rescue mission, leaving terrorist expert Kurt Russell to save the day for Humanity and the American Way. David Suchet (Hercule Poirot himself!) is the villain this time out, a fanatical Arab assassin who hijacks a passenger plane and threatens all manner of unpleasantness if the US doesn't release a fellow terrorist from custody. Russell manages to sneak on board the plane with Seagal's commando unit (now led by John Leguizamo), but they find themselves sharing space with a deadly nerve bomb, which Suchet intends to detonate over Washington DC, come what may...
Former editor Stuart Baird (THE OMEN, SUPERMAN) makes his directorial debut with this gung ho potboiler, which looks decidedly hammy post-9/11, and which could never be accused of enriching our understanding of the Human Condition. But the melodramatic script (by Jim and John Thomas) twists the screws for its papier-mâché characters before reaching a frenzied boiling point during the climactic confrontation between slimy foreign upstarts (mown down like skittles, without a second thought) and All-American good guys (invincible in triumph, martyred in defeat). Baird directs with sure-footed economy (the film doesn't feel padded at all, despite the 132 minute running time), and while some of the early scenes threaten to submerge viewers beneath a wave of unbridled testosterone, matters improve when Russell takes center-stage, playing the Everyman hero who proves every bit as resourceful as his militaristic companions. Halle Berry plays a terrified stewardess who helps save the day, while the main cast is bolstered by dependable talent in secondary roles (B.D. Wong, Joe Morton, George Coe, Len Cariou, etc.). Overblown stuff, and morally dubious to boot, but mindlessly entertaining nonetheless.
Aspect ratio: 2.39:1 (Panavision)
Sound formats: Dolby Digital / DTS / SDDS
Normally, the name Steven Seagal would be enough to send any self-respecting movie fan screaming from theaters in a state of advanced colonic distress, but he makes only a brief appearance in this barnstorming blockbuster as the leader of a crack commando unit who is unceremoniously dumped (literally) from a great height during a botched rescue mission, leaving terrorist expert Kurt Russell to save the day for Humanity and the American Way. David Suchet (Hercule Poirot himself!) is the villain this time out, a fanatical Arab assassin who hijacks a passenger plane and threatens all manner of unpleasantness if the US doesn't release a fellow terrorist from custody. Russell manages to sneak on board the plane with Seagal's commando unit (now led by John Leguizamo), but they find themselves sharing space with a deadly nerve bomb, which Suchet intends to detonate over Washington DC, come what may...
Former editor Stuart Baird (THE OMEN, SUPERMAN) makes his directorial debut with this gung ho potboiler, which looks decidedly hammy post-9/11, and which could never be accused of enriching our understanding of the Human Condition. But the melodramatic script (by Jim and John Thomas) twists the screws for its papier-mâché characters before reaching a frenzied boiling point during the climactic confrontation between slimy foreign upstarts (mown down like skittles, without a second thought) and All-American good guys (invincible in triumph, martyred in defeat). Baird directs with sure-footed economy (the film doesn't feel padded at all, despite the 132 minute running time), and while some of the early scenes threaten to submerge viewers beneath a wave of unbridled testosterone, matters improve when Russell takes center-stage, playing the Everyman hero who proves every bit as resourceful as his militaristic companions. Halle Berry plays a terrified stewardess who helps save the day, while the main cast is bolstered by dependable talent in secondary roles (B.D. Wong, Joe Morton, George Coe, Len Cariou, etc.). Overblown stuff, and morally dubious to boot, but mindlessly entertaining nonetheless.