Momento Crítico

Like my review of "Air Force One", the counterpart of this movie which came out the following year, this movie takes on a whole new element in the post 9/11 world. When released, a terrorist taking control of an airplane and using it against American Citezens as a bomb seemed the stuff Hollywood would make up and produce. After those shocking events, however, the movie takes on a quality of realism that it didn't before, and unlike the aforementioned "Air Force One", is superior in many ways.

First off, the cast: Kurt Russell, Steven Seagal, and the star-to-be Halle Berry star. Russell proves himself as a versatile Character Actor. Afterall, his previous role was that of a Special Operations Soldier in the Sci-Fi hit "Stargate", and in this movie he plays an intelligence analyst whom Special Operations Soldiers despise, and pulls it off well. Seagal completely convinces you he is the Soldiers Soldier that he is supposed to be. And Halle Berry, well, she deserves that Oscar she later won, and her abilities are showcased here. She was not the star then that she is today, and this is perhaps one of her many breakout appearances.

Second, all branches of the Armed Forces (save the Marine Corps) have a chance to shine in this movie. It shows a true devotion among the men who serve the United States. The Special Ops guys are Army, the delivery pilot is Air Force and the Tomcat Pilots are Naval Aviators along the lines of Maverick from "Top Gun".

In conclusion, this is a good movie that is under-rated, and in the wake of 9/11, seems that much more real.

Terrorists hijack a jumbo jet with the apparent intention of getting an incarcerated comrade released from captivity. The American government are quick to react, and using a stealth plane, smuggle a crack team of commandos on board the mid-air jet. However, all does not go to plan as the terrorists motives come to light and the commandos are severely hampered by ill fortune and their resourceful foe.

Forget common sense or any semblance of probability, and just accept that Executive Decision is mindless, unadulterated fun. Every hostage/hijack cliché in the book is used by first time director Stuart Baird. From the roll call of character staples-the hero in waiting out of his depth- nerdy electronics geek-heroine trolley-dolly and Gung-Ho soldiers, to the by the numbers set of complications that come our intrepid heroes way. This is simple stuff that, although obviously given added emotional impetus post 9/11, remains a whole slice of tension pie laced with a disaster movie sauce.

Kurt Russell heads the cast as fish out of water suit, Dr. David Grant, and joining him for the malarkey is Halle Berry, Oliver Platt, Joe Morton and Joe Leguizamo. Steven Seagal appears in an uncredited role, a role that in turn will either delight or annoy fans and haters of the pony tailed one. Leave your brain at the check in desk and board this particular jumbo jet. 6.5/10

This is a great 90s action movie. It has the exciting moments, the interesting plot and the mixture of characters that the period's action movies all tried to have. But at the same time, it downplays the one-man heroism that is often a big part of them (looking at you, McClaine!). The movie refers to this with the character played by Segal.

The most important part of this movie is the team. Early on people tries to break with the team, but mostly everyone is on the same page throughout the movie. At the end of the movie, one character kind-of goes against his team, but the focus is also on trusting one's teammates, something that the other guys does during this moment.

If you want a quintessential 90s action flick, this is a good pick!

Most of this movie is simply one extremely long suspense scene as a team of Americans try to board a passenger jet, disarm a bomb and capture terrorists. After a 10-15 minute opening to set the story up, the rest of it (two hours) is the constant suspense of whether the mission will succeed and what happens along the way. With that much tension for so, the movie would have been more effective had it been cut 15-20 minutes.

However, it was never boring. It was far-fetched, however, but many action movies are just that, and this story wasn't stupid, by any means. I expected such with Kurt Russell and Steven Segal in it, but those two were much more subdued than usual.

Oliver Platt, Halle Barry, John Leguizamo and Joe Morton rounded out a very diverse and solid cast. This is one of those films that really grabs you the first time you see it, but after that, loses its appeal since the suspense is over. Definitely recommended for those who like to sit on the edge of their seat and be entertained.

I enjoyed this one. Sure there were some implausible things: the speed of the counter-action, the strange fact that a complete change of the aerodynamics of a stealth bomber seems to cause zero disturbance... But all in all it was well within bearable limits. Don't expect to see a 100% realistic plot in a movie that is supposed to contain heros! In reality, they usually get shot or explode before they have the chance to become one :-)

Critical Decisions has a more than adequate mix of suspense, better-than-horrible acting, plot twists and mild humor to relieve the tension. Whereas a lot of movies in the same genre totally screw up one or more of those aspects. I'm thinking about the terribly balanced "humor" in The Rock, for example. Killing all tension and involvement..

8/10

JoH