Executive Decision

1996 "Five miles above the earth, an elite team of six men must make an air to air transfer, in order to save 400 lives on board a 747...and 40 million below."
6.5| 2h13m| R| en| More Info
Released: 15 March 1996 Released
Producted By: Warner Bros. Pictures
Country: United States of America
Budget: 0
Revenue: 0
Official Website:
Info

Terrorists hijack a 747 inbound to Washington D.C., demanding the release of their imprisoned leader. Intelligence expert David Grant (Kurt Russell) suspects another reason and he is soon the reluctant member of a special assault team that is assigned to intercept the plane and hijackers.

Watch Online

Executive Decision (1996) is now streaming with subscription on Max

Director

Stuart Baird

Production Companies

Warner Bros. Pictures

AD
AD

Watch Free for 30 Days

All Prime Video Movies and TV Shows. Cancel anytime.
Watch Now
Executive Decision Videos and Images
View All
  • Top Credited Cast
  • |
  • Crew

Executive Decision Audience Reviews

Lovesusti The Worst Film Ever
FuzzyTagz If the ambition is to provide two hours of instantly forgettable, popcorn-munching escapism, it succeeds.
ThedevilChoose When a movie has you begging for it to end not even half way through it's pure crap. We've all seen this movie and this characters millions of times, nothing new in it. Don't waste your time.
Robert Joyner The plot isn't so bad, but the pace of storytelling is too slow which makes people bored. Certain moments are so obvious and unnecessary for the main plot. I would've fast-forwarded those moments if it was an online streaming. The ending looks like implying a sequel, not sure if this movie will get one
nateshady I can't believe Steven Seagal died so early.. Why would he even agree to the part? Good actors though
kgprophet You can call this 90s action thriller Tom Clancy lite. Back before anyone could realistically imagine hijackers using a commercial airplane as a missile, this fictional tale sets up a Die Hard style scenario, sorta. Kurt Russell does a decent Jack Ryan, the government specialist unwittingly caught up in the middle of it. Halle Berry is one of the flight attendants that risks her life to stop the kamikaze group of terrorists who have placed a chemical weapon on a commercial 747. The writing takes a turn to the tedious as a special forces team sneaks onboard the 747, and come across a steady series of setbacks. Especially tedious is the one terrorist who becomes suspicious of possible shenanigans Halle Berry is doing behind his back. This is the terrorist who seems to have ESP about the good guy's plan, but will stop as he is just about take that extra step, just about to uncover that hidden camera, or find that concealed manifest. Mild spoiler ahead..... Also tedious is the bomb expert of the military team being incapacitated, helping to grind the action to a halt. ....End mild spoilerThere is the unintended consequence of the military guys having to whisper throughout the entire ordeal. The whispering undercuts the potential of strong drama as the team tries to put their rescue plan in place. Meanwhile at the pentagon, an underwritten script leaves little real tension as the cliche military advisors gather in the situation room. Oh, yeah, the President stays off camera. It's up to the Secretary of the Defense to pick up the phone to call him. The Die Hard aspect comes as the good guys surreptitiously crawl under and above the passenger cabin, without being caught by the bad guys. The whole sneaking around fills out the second act, and lends to some dull build-up as the plot points slowly click off. Things finally start to kick into action in the third act, and is fairly entertaining with mostly passable effects. Tom Clancy fans, looking for a copycat movie that is comparable to "Air Force One" (yes I know it's not a Tom Clancy story but who's kidding who), can do worse. Oh yes, I haven't mentioned Steven Seagal. Yes he is in this film, and comes off OK, but it really is a cameo and is not a major player in the rest of the film. I give this film a 5 out of 10, with a workable cast and story, providing some tension and a few thrills.
gwnightscream Kurt Russell, John Leguizamo, Oliver Platt and Halle Berry star in this 1996 action film. Russell (Escape from New York, The Thing) plays David Grant, an intelligence analyst who is assigned the task of helping a team of commandos seize a hijacked airliner that's carrying a deadly, nerve gas. Leguizamo (Spawn) plays commando, Rat, Platt (Indecent Proposal) plays engineer, Cahill and Berry (The Last Boy Scout) play flight attendant, Jean. David Suchet (A Perfect Murder), Joe Morton (Terminator 2), BD Wong (Gotham) and Steven Seagal (Under Siege) also appear. I've always enjoyed this film, the cast is great and the score by the late, Jerry Goldmith is excellent as usual. I recommend this good action flick.
Leofwine_draca I saw EXECUTIVE DECISION soon after its first release and remember being disappointed by the experience. I was a teenager back then and hoping for a ton of DIE HARD-on-a-plane style action, which I didn't get; even worse, the film was missold to me as a Steven Seagal movie, and the poor guy gets bumped off half an hour in. I wasn't impressed, and spent the rest of the film sulking.Watching it some twenty years later, time has been kind to this film. It's actually better for NOT being another DIE HARD clone; there's a ton of suspense inherent in the premise of the guys having to hide from the terrorists and stay hidden for much of the running time. Sure, the bomb plot is done to death and Oliver Platt isn't a great actor, but everything else works nicely, particularly the direction which maximises every drop of tension from the narrative. Stuart Baird is best known for his work as an editor but also did U.S. MARSHALS, which I loved as well.To say too much about this film's plot would be to spoil it, but it works nicely. Kurt Russell isn't bad as the hero but is outshone by almost everyone else, apart from the poor Halle Berry. David Suchet's villain is a scary one, but I liked the characters of the special forces team best. Joe Morton does injured very well again after TERMINATOR 2; John Leguizamo supplies attitude and a good tough guy demeanour; B.D. Wong has more screen time than JURASSIC PARK. Even J.T. Walsh is present in a minor role. The action, when it hits, is exciting stuff, and the film is only occasionally cheesy which is a surprise - it was the 1990s, after all.