Executive Decision is a solidly mounted riff on the 'Die Hard on a plane' motif, which can be awesome (Air Force One, Con Air) or a mess (Passenger 57, Non Stop). This one's got a wicked cast in its corner, and to me that's the key with making any airplane set film work: When it's just our hero and the terrorists clean cut, there's no magic. Having a bunch of distinct, colorful people all coupes up in their holds interest better. A valiant Kurt Russell stars here as Dr. David Grant, an intelligence analyst who comes up with an idea right out of a movie after hearing that a passenger airliner has been hijacked by violent terrorists. He accompanies a commando team led by Colonel Travis (Steven Seagal in a character arc you've never seen him do before) to secretly board the plane mid air and eliminate the threat by force. It's a volatile plan rife with opportunities for suspenseful situations, which we get in spades, sans the occasional flag waving which got annoying in Air Force One. in addition to Russell and Seagal here we've got Halle Berry as a flight attendant with remarkable survival instincts, JT Walsh as a senator in the wrong place at the wrong time, A very scary David Suchet as the terrorist leader, with terrific work also from. Oliver Platt, Joe Morton and others. My favourite performance comes from peppy scene stealer John Leguizamo as Rat, the most charismatic dude on the commando team. He's got such a winning quality to his work that even in small riles he becomes the benchmark of any film for me and always one of the key elements I take away from it. This one is surprisingly modest for an action flick of scope, not resorting to bombastic third act fireworks to wow the crowds, but remaining somewhat intimate with what's going on in the interior of the plane and drawing clammy suspense from it. Great stuff.
Review of Executive Decision
