Posted: 02/09/2011

Executive Decision Review

by Robert Baum

Review: Executive Decision (1996)

Ace action mogul Joel Silver no doubt knows he is unable to make the implausible premises of his big-budget actioners seem other than mere cinematic thrill rides. To his credit, he has made inroads of sorts. Lethal Weapon and Die Hard showed that he could produce quality efforts with more than the snap, crackle, and pop of gunfire. The films also showed that action could be handled with both intelligence and fun if the proper talents were assembled.
His latest opus is clearly a descendant of Die Hard, the 1988 hit which served as an inspiration for other action (Speed and Sudden Death are among the most recent copycats) films and no doubt hoping for similar success. to paraphrase a line from Ecclesiastes, “Executive Decision offers nothing new under the sun” and virtually no surprises. Its hero (Kurt Russell) is obvioulsy inspired by Jack Ryan, the hero of Tom Clancy best-sellers—and cinematic adapations—as The Hunt for Red October and Clear and Present Danger who has been portrayed onscreen by Alec Baldwin and Harrison Ford.
A band of Middle Eastern subversives have hijacked a civilian jet while the craft is airborne. A team of military operatives led by Steven Seagal is assigned the task of neutralizing the terrorists. Dr. David Grant (Russell), a bespectacled government analyst joins the team, much to the annoyance of Seagal’s character. In sharp contrast to the fatigue-clad counter-terrorist specialists, Grant is wearing a tux as he has been called away from a formal function. Grant’s wardrobe prompts Seagal’s second-in-command (John Leguizamo) to crack, “Who is this, 007?”
Grant and the team head off in a stealth jet and rendezvous with the hijacked transport, save Seagal The team find their radios wrecked and facing the reality that they might be presumed dead as they have but a few hours before military craft will destroy the plane once it enters American airspace. Leguizamo realizes that the unit’s mission might not be successful. Grant thinks there is a chance no matter how slight is is. Though he has no experience in combat and has never seen a photograph of the chief terrorist (David Suchet, best known for playing Inspector Hercule Poirot in the popular PBS series).
Russell makes for a solid hero. It’s nice to see him playing someone of intelligence who has to be prodded into action. Unlike the gung-ho he-men he portrayed in Escape from New York, Big Trouble in Little China, and especially Tango and Cash. His teaming with Sylvester Stallone in the 1989 effort relied more upon action than words.
Veteran film editor Stuart Baird, whose previous efforts include such Silver productions as Die Hard 2 and the first two Lethal Weapon films, makes his directing debut with Executive Decision. He brings his talents to pace action sequences well and time them for the desired effect. Baird also serves as one of the film’s editors.
By now it must be a clear sign that the Die Hard formula is getting a bit stale. For it has inspired an effort by one of the producers of that 1988 blockbuster. Still it makes for enjoyable escapist entertainment even more so than the 1995 installment. Though audiences have often taken cinematic action joyrides plenty of times, Silver knows many will come back for excitement anew onscreen. Executive Decision offers an abundance of solid thrills

Robert Baum is Currently a Bryn Mawr, PA-based film afficanado and pop culture junkie.

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