Executive Decision

Executive Decision (1996)

Executive Decision is a 1996 action film, directed by Stuart Baird and starring Kurt Russell, Halle Berry, John Leguizamo and Steven Seagal. The original music was composed by Jerry Goldsmith. The film was released in the United States on March 15, 1996. 

Synopsis

Terrorists have hijacked a Boeing 747 en route from Athens to Washington, D.C., demanding in exchange for the hostages the release of terrorist El Sayed Jaffa, who had been recently captured and taken into United States custody.

It is discovered that the terrorists are actually planning an attack on Washington, D.C., placing a bomb on the airplane that will release a large amount of nerve gas on detonation.

A plan is devised to place a small team of United States Army Special Forces into the plane mid-flight to retake control and disable the bomb. If they are not successful, the decision to shoot down the aircraft before it reaches United States airspace is made, trading the lives of the approximately 400 innocent passengers to save the lives of hundreds of thousands of people on the ground. This decision is an "executive decision", meaning that it must be specifically approved by the President of the United States.

Plot

Lieutenant Colonel (LTC) Austin Travis (Steven Seagal) leads an unsuccessful raid on a Chechen mafia safehouse by a United States Army Special Forces team to recover a stolen Soviet nerve agent, DZ-5. One of his men was killed during the raid.

David Grant (Kurt Russell), Ph.D, a United States Naval Academy graduate and now a consultant for Army intelligence, is informed that the world's most feared terrorist, El Sayed Jaffa (Andreas Katsulas), has been taken into custody. Shortly after, Oceanic Airlines Flight 343, a Boeing 747-200, leaves Athens bound for Washington Dulles International Airport. It is hijacked by Jaffa's deputy director, Nagi Hassan (David Suchet), and a number of Jaffa's men.

Dr. Grant is summoned to the Pentagon to join a team led by LTC Travis which is being readied to intercept the hijacked plane. They listen to Nagi Hassan's demand for the release of Jaffa. Grant, however, does not believe Hassan wants Jaffa released. He believes that Hassan actually arranged for Jaffa's capture, that the hijacked plane is carrying a bomb loaded with DZ-5, and that Hassan wants to detonate the bomb over U.S. airspace.

A plan is worked out that will involve a mid-air transfer of a special operations team onto the hijacked airliner using an experimental"Remora" aircraft. The plan is approved, and LTC Travis assembles his team of Special Forces operators at Andrews Air Force Base. They board with Dr. Grant and engineer Dennis Cahill (Oliver Platt).

The boarding is only partially successful. When Sergeant First Class "Cappy" Matheny (Joe Morton) is seriously injured, Grant, who was supposed to stay put, boards to help lift him into the plane. The 747 pulls up, though, putting too much stress on the boarding sleeve. Unable to board the plane, LTC Travis sacrifices himself when he closes the 747's hatch, just as the sleeve breaks and he is thrown from the F-117. The operators who survived insertion make it to the 747's lower deck, but with half their equipment and no communication. It is assumed back at The Pentagon the operators did not make it aboard.

With limited options, the operators begin to search for the supposed DZ-5 bomb. Grant manages to make contact with a flight attendant, Jean (Halle Berry), despite Hassan's suspicions, and asks her for assistance in finding the bomb's remote detonator.

Officials decide to release Jaffa in order to resolve the situation. Meanwhile, Cappy and Cahill locate and start to dismantle the bomb. They discover that bomb's arming device is barometrically activated. They seemingly disarm the bomb, but it is revealed that there is another trigger.

Jaffa calls Hassan from a private jet, telling him he is free, but Hassan will not be swayed from his plan. Grant realizes that only Hassan knows about the bomb, but none of his men do—which means there is a sleeper on board—one passenger among 400.

U.S. Senator Jason Mavros (J.T. Walsh) is called away from his seat to have a word with the President only to realize he's to be sacrificed as a warning that Hassan is serious. Hassan points a gun to the head of Senator Mavros as he tries in vain to get the President to listen but is shot in the head.

Jean spots a man with an electronic device and informs Grant. Meanwhile, the soldiers manage to use the plane's taillights and Morse code signal to the U.S. Navy fighter jets that they are on board and not to shoot them down.

Grant and Jean enter the passenger cabin and take the suspected individual by surprise, but what Jean thought was an electronic device was merely a case of diamonds. Grant spots the real sleeper: Jean-Paul Demou, the man who built the bomb. Hassan attempts to fire at Grant, but is shot from behind by the on-board Air Marshal. The operators kill the lights, make entry and storm the cabin where a firefight ensues. Stray bullets strike and break passenger windows wide open, causing explosive decompression sucking out three passengers and Demou out of the plane. The remaining terrorists are killed during the exchange, the bomb is finally disarmed, and the plane is able to regain its stability. In a last act of desperation, a seriously wounded Hassan kills both pilots, hoping the bomb will detonate if the plane crashes. Hassan is killed by a wounded Master Sergeant 'Rat'.

Grant is then forced to assume control of the plane and attempt to land the 747 at Dulles International Airport despite his limited piloting experience. He attempts to land at Dulles but is flying too high by the time he reaches the runway and misses the approach forcing him to pull the plane back up to circle around and try again. As the plane begins to climb, Grant visually recognizes the area surrounding Frederick Field which is where he normally practices flying. Deciding to try and land the 747 there, with Jean's assistance, Grant makes a sloppy but safe landing but is unable to stop before reaching the end of the airport's relatively short runway. The Plane is slowed to a stop by ramming into a sand berm at the runway's overrun area where emergency workers are able to safely evacuate the remaining passengers.

Cast

• Kurt Russell as Dr. David Grant
• Steven Seagal as LTC Austin Travis
• John Leguizamo as MSG Carlos "Rat" Lopez
• David Suchet as Nagi Hassan
• Halle Berry as Jean
• Oliver Platt as Dennis Cahill
• Joe Morton as SFC Campbell "Cappy" Matheny
• B. D. Wong as SFC Louie Jung
• Whip Hubley as SFC Michael Baker
• Marla Maples as Flight Attendant Nancy
• J. T. Walsh as Senator Mavros
• Charles Hallahan as Lieutenant General Sarlow
• Richard Riehle as Air Marshal George Edwards
• Andreas Katsulas as El Sayed Jaffa
• Ahmed Ahmed as Terrorist #4
• Jay Tavare as Nabill
• Ray Baker as 747 Captain

Exeutive Decision (1996) poster

Sumber : Wiki, IMDB