This has been one of my favourite movies for a long time, when I first saw it in the theatre I was so impressed that I could not wait for it to be available for home video and was one of the first Dvd's I bought.

As you might have guessed from the titles of my other DVD reviews I am an action movie fan, but that does not mean I enjoy watching brainless, B grade , action movies either. I enjoyed this so much because EXECUTIVE DECISION is rousing escapist entertainment at it's best .the lead role played by Kurt Russell (Stargate, Breakdown) is the hero but comes off like an everyday guy, I cannot stand movies where the hero is played to be so tough that you know from the start that heaps of bad guys are going to die and the hero will end the movie without breaking into a sweat.

That said it is the story of a desk bound consultant to military intelligence (Russell) who is pressed into active service when a transatlantic flight is hijacked by a fanatical group of Middle Eastern terrorists. In addition to taking the 747, the terrorists have also stowed a lethal nerve-toxin aboard the plane, which they have wired to a hair-triggered bomb. To save the lives of the passengers as well as 40 million others on the ground, a daring mid-air infiltration is executed. This allows an elite team of commandos to attempt to retake the plane and defuse the bomb. The commandos are lead by Steven Seagal in a short , supportive role. Seagal although playing only a small part does it well and keeps in tune with the theme of the movie. The middle eastern villain is played by David Suchet who is a truly fine actor who adds a touch of class to the film, and makes a big impression as the fanatical villain.

Warner Home Video has presented both Letterboxed and pan and scan editions of the film on this DVD, but to get the full impact of the film one will want to stick with the Letterboxed version. EXECUTIVE DECISION was produced in anamorphic wide screen and the viewer loses far too much of the 2.35:1 aspect ratio to the pan and scan process. The pan and scan process makes the action too difficult to follow and the image is cropped somewhat terrible. The Letterboxed transfer restores EXECUTIVE DECISION to its proper theatrical framing, and it also restores the film’s soul. The transfer itself is excellent, the majority of the movie takes place within the bowels of a 747 and as a result there is not much light and the scenes are dark. The DVD handles this beautifully and the picture quality shines through.

The Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack really kicks. The mix features plenty of channel separation, plus the sound field envelopes viewer during the big action sequences. There is also a matrixed Dolby Surround soundtrack on the two channel analog output. The interactive menus feature biographies, filmographies and production notes. Subtitles are available in English, French and Spanish. Highly recommended.