62
Metascore
20 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 80Los Angeles TimesKenneth TuranLos Angeles TimesKenneth TuranEverything about Executive Decision is familiar except how crisply its conventional story is executed. Since most action thrillers think blowing things up is enough to attract an audience, it's a nice surprise to come across a savvy piece of work that relies on suspense and is as professional as the elite anti-terrorist unit it celebrates.
- 80VarietyLeonard KladyVarietyLeonard KladyUltimately, it’s the film’s sly irony that sets it a notch above similar actioners. The Thomas brothers’ script repeatedly draws us down dead-end alleys only to reverse expectations and top white-knuckle situations with thrilling conclusions.
- 75Chicago Sun-TimesRoger EbertChicago Sun-TimesRoger EbertIt's the kind of thriller where it's fun to chortle over the plot--a movie for people who are sophisticated enough to know how shameless the film is, but fun-loving enough to enjoy its excesses and manic zeal.
- Writers Jim and John Thomas and first-time director Stuart Baird have come up with a surprisingly deft variation on the airplane hijack genre, one that relies on subterfuge and suspense rather than explosives and body counts even though Steven Seagal is in it.
- 70Time OutTime OutThe escalating tension largely compensates for the lack of character involvement, and the climax will have you reaching for your safety belt.
- 70The New York TimesJanet MaslinThe New York TimesJanet MaslinA good, taut movie for red-meat action audiences, but it's not one you will be seeing on an airliner. Not ever.
- 70Washington PostDesson ThomsonWashington PostDesson ThomsonIf you're looking for satisfying junk food, Executive Decision is exactly the carryout you've been craving. This hijacking suspense drama steals shamelessly from Tom Clancy's kitchen, but it's tautly scripted, loaded with tension and interspersed with great comic relief.
- 60EmpireIan NathanEmpireIan NathanThe acting is all first base, the script a laughable stream of gung ho-isms, the action merely solid and the effects indifferent. Yet, you still stroll out with a grin a mile wide.
- 58Entertainment WeeklyOwen GleibermanEntertainment WeeklyOwen GleibermanSuch a bluntly impersonal thriller that the title might almost be describing the production honcho who greenlighted yet another Die Hard clone.
- 50TV Guide MagazineTV Guide MagazineCompetently directed by respected film editor Stuart Baird, it's a glossy production with plenty of Things That Go Boom, courtesy of producer/demolition expert Joel Silver.