Executive Decision (1996)
It’s Die Hard…
on a plane… again.
Is the main character an average Joe?
Partially. Like Stanley Goodspeed in The Rock he is an office worker, an intelligence expert and must defuse a bomb that’s is on a commercial flight that has been taken over by muslim terrorists. He is aided by a small crew of soldiers but it mostly is all up to him as he helps with diffusing the bomb as well as fighting the terrorists.
Sidekick?
Halle Berry as a stewardess gets to help the main character.
Any personal problems?
His bad intel got one of the men of Lieutenant Colonel Austin Travis (Steven Seagal in his 3rd Die Hard clone) killed so they have a beef.
Is the lead character there by coincidence?
Yes and no, his job was to identify people from the Stealth but he got onboard by accident. So he was appointed to this mission, but shouldn’t be aboard.
Are there any friends or family in danger?
No, just civillians and some military personel.
What’s at stake and why aren’t the authorities doing anything?
The terrorists threaten to blow up the plane if their captured leader is not released. They also plan to do this above a big American city which becomes clear halfway through and resembles what happened on 9-11. The authorities are actually doing something namely bringing this crew aboard to cancel those plans.
Any charismatic villains?
The leader of the group is a calm, well-spoken intellectual, even though his beliefs are insane.
Is it any good?
It’s a good action film and notable for the fact that it actually is the only movie in which Steven Seagal dies. It also became a bit notorious after 9-11 because the concept of using a plane as a suicide attack device was literally taken from this film.
They are planning a remake, I would go for Jensen Ackles, Jared Padalecki, Joe Manganiello, Milo Ventimiglia, Tom Welling, Chris Evans, Chris Pine, Chadwick Boseman, Anthony Mackie, Jeremy Runner, Derek Theler, or D.J. Cotrona as Gabe Walker; and Billy Zane, Kevin Spacey, Dominic Pace, Alec Baldwin, Gil Banks, Hugo Weaving, Robert Knepper, Brian Van Holt, Travis Fine, Skeet Ulrich, or Dash Mihok as Qualen.
I think there is a way to improve The Taking of Beverly Hills, like instead an undercover Fed helped crippled a militia group and imprisoned many members including their leader. But the leader’s brother and a few members of the group plant bombs all over Beverly Hills, and threaten to set them off if the leader is not released, and the undercover fed seeks out the bombs while his partners buy him time.
Blast is good, but it would be worthwhile to note that, Agent Lisa Reed (Vivica A. Fox) finds out that Michael Kittridge (Vinnie Jones) is actually a mercenary named Skyler Talbot and had killed the real Kittridge and stole his identity to throw off authorities.
I would like to see Christmas Rush. Anyone know where to find it?
There are some sites that list it as streamable, but I don’t know how legit they are. If you own an XBMC player I would advise you to look on that network.
What is an XBMC Player? I have never heard of one.
In most cases they are mediaplayers running Android. Because they run Android they can download an app named XBMC from Google’s Play Store. XBMC allows you to search and stream movies
Don’t forget the other scenarios like Terminal Rush, Interceptor, Crash Dive, Counter Measures, 12 Rounds: Reloaded, 12 Rounds: Lockdown, Project: Shadow Chaser, Command Performance, Demolition University, Cyberjack/Virtual Assassin, Final Voyage, and Air Rage.
For Speed 2: Cruise Control, it should have been Direct to Video, and not a sequel to Speed. The lead villain should have been a pirate instead of soft ware designer turned mad bomber trying to blow up a ship.
Every time I see “Air Force One” I remember that in the Tom Clancy novels, the character of Jack Ryan becomes president. This film could have been part of the saga starring Harrison Ford, if he had continued it.