Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		0.0
Overall		4.0

Executive Decision Blu-ray Movie Review

Too Close for Comfort?

Reviewed by Michael Reuben August 11, 2011

24 wasn't the first popular entertainment to exploit terrorism for thrills, though it may have been the most opportunistic. Executive Decision, the 1996 directorial debute of ace editor, Stuart Baird (most recently, Salt and Green Lantern), is like a time capsule of what Americans in the Nineties feared from a terrorist attack -- most of it wrong, as things turned out. That's probably why the film can still be enjoyed as entertainment. The threats played out so differently in real life that, even in the few places where it overlaps, Executive Decision still feels like popcorn escapism.

Executive Decision is often described as an action film, but it's really more of a thriller. The first clue is the hero, a Jack Ryan-style analyst named Dr. David Grant (Kurt Russell), who works for a Washington think tank. Grant is the leading expert on a terrorist group headed by El Sayed Jaffa (Andreas Katsulas, who's played everything from a one-armed man to a Romulan) and his second-in-command, Nagi Hassan (David Suchet, proving once again that classically trained British actors make the best villains).

In the film's opening, a U.S. Special Forces team headed by Lt. Colonel Travis (Steven Seagal) attacks a Chechen safe house attempting to recover stolen Soviet nerve gas that Grant believes Jaffa's group wants to buy. When the mission is unsuccessful, fingerpointing ensues. Meanwhile, the U.S. military manages to kidnap Jaffa and hold him at a secret facility. But the triumph is short-lived. Nagi Hassan and a small group of followers hijack a 747 flight from Athens to Washington, D.C. and threaten to kill everyone aboard unless Jaffa is freed immediately. With the President out of the country, immediate authority falls on Secretary of Defense Charles White (Len Cariou), who's inclined to give in.

Called to a meeting on an emergency basis (and still wearing a tuxedo), Dr. Grant tells everyone they're being played. The Jaffa exchange is a ruse to cover Nagi Hassan's real plan. He has the stolen nerve gas and plans to use the hijacked plane to disburse it over Washington. Now Secretary White has two equally unappealing choices: set Jaffa free and take the risk that Grant may be right, or shoot down the 747 over the Atlantic, killing the 400 passengers aboard and burning up all evidence of the nerve gas.

Colonel Travis has a third option: use experimental technology to transfer his team from a stealth plane to the 747 in mid-air. The technology was developed by an engineer named Cahill (Oliver Platt), who would have to accompany them. And Travis wants Dr. Grant there too, as the world's leading expert on Nagi Hassan.

As is so often the case, things don't go as planned, and the team that ends up on the 747 is missing both key personnel and essential equipment. They have to improvise and enlist help from the flight crew, including a terrified flight attendant named Jean (pronounced "Jan") (Halle Berry). Meanwhile, Secretary White and his advisors anxiously watch the plane approach the point at which they'll have no choice but to shoot it down.



Except for action set pieces at the beginning, middle (roughly) and end, Executive Decision is mostly about people talking and working under tense circumstances and often in cramped spaces. In pacing and style, the film it most resembles is The Hunt for Red October, although specific plot elements were borrowed by the following year's Air Force One (e.g., the high-ranking dignitary, here J.T. Walsh's Senator Mavros, who tries to negotiate with the hostage-takers and fails spectacularly). The film achieves much of its effect from the precision editing of close shots of people huddled together exchanging words, speaking into microphones, reacting to what they're hearing or seeing, and gesturing for fear of being heard by the enemy. (Director Baird served as one of the film's three credited editors.) Studios rarely make this kind of film anymore, which is a shame.

Baird and his editing team have the advantage of strong performances delivered by a fine ensemble. In addition to those already mentioned, the cast includes John Leguizamo, B.D. Wong, Joe Morton and Whip Hubley, all playing members of the Special Forces group with different areas of expertise. All of them manage to convey the sense of camaraderie that develops among people who have faced danger together, while at the same time remaining identifiable individuals. The latter quality is especially important once they have to scatter around the huge 747, each one doing something different.

As noted on the back of the case, and discussed extensively on the Blu-ray.com forum, this version of Executive Decision contains alterations from the version shown theatrically and released on DVD. A forum member has listed the changes here. The intent seems to have been to minimize appearances of Nagi Hassan's Koran in the film (though some appearances remain). While I can understand concern over such an issue by an international entertainment conglomerate, it strikes me as misplaced, especially with so many copies of the theatrical version already in circulation, and I sympathize with the reaction of those who have declared that they will not buy the Blu-ray on principle due to the changes. (I hope that anyone who cites this review's stance on the issue will include the preceding sentence.)

Nevertheless, while watching the disc for purposes of this review, I tried to forget what I knew about the alterations in order to see whether the changes were obvious or intrusive, or interrupted the flow of a film whose pacing I recalled as being tense and carefully controlled. I was pleased to reach the film's slam-bang conclusion without any sense of something being "off". This is not intended to justify the changes, but simply to note that they have not radically altered the viewing experience. Since another Blu-ray release is unlikely in the foreseeable future, this is also a relevant consideration for anyone weighing the pros and cons of purchasing this version.

Executive Decision Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The 1080p, AVC-encoded Blu-ray image is beautifully sharp and detailed, except for scenes where haze, smoke or other interference is intended to obscure one's vision. Black levels are excellent, as can be seen by Dr. Grant's tuxedo (a running joke, since he doesn't have time to change). Colors are varied and distinct but not overly saturated, which is consistent with the film's palette; so much of the story occurs in dim light that strong colors wouldn't show anyway. No DNR or other filtering appears to have been applied, and I saw no compression-related artifacts. There is a tiny amount of video noise that appears in some of the larger aerial shots; this is probably attributable to visual effects work and is hardly noticeable unless you're looking for it.

Executive Decision Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

By the time Executive Decision was made, sound designers had become quite comfortable with discrete multi-channel formats, and the film's soundtrack, reproduced here in DTS lossless, is a fine example. Flyovers and fly-bys, gunfire, the omnipresent sounds of air travel (in several different environments) and a number of dramatic mid-air events, including a sudden decompression, make full use of the surround environment to put you into the experience. Bass extension is impressive, dialogue is clear, even when whispered, and the late Jerry Goldsmith's score -- simple, efficient and memorable -- is beautifully rendered. It's an effective track, well presented.

Executive Decision Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Theatrical Trailer (SD; 1.85:1, enhanced; 2:20): For my taste, it gives away too much, but it certainly sells the film.

Executive Decision Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

I expected to be uncomfortable revisiting Executive Decision after all these years, but I ended up being surprised at how little the film disturbed me. Reality turned out to be so very different from what movies imagined. Charismatic terrorist leaders never sacrificed themselves, low-tech turned out to be more lethal than anything Nagi Hassan accomplished, and most Americans would be thrilled to have an intelligence service that was never more than one step behind the world's most dangerous terrorists. Despite its origin in contemporary fears, Executive Decision remains a thoroughly escapist piece of popular entertainment, and when the credits roll to Frank Sinatra singing "It's Nice to Go Trav'ling", it's like the filmmakers have turned to wink at you, and you shake off the whole experience. For technical quality, the Blu-ray is highly recommended. It's up to the individual purchaser whether or not the trims are a dealbreaker.