Executive Decision (Stuart Baird, 1996): I had something of a landmark moment this week: the first time I sat down and started writing Guy Movie of the Week, only to realize somewhere in the second paragraph that that movie had already been a Guy Movie of the Week. Freaky, but when you consider that this is my 54th GMOTW, it had to happen eventually.

But no sweat, quick change of pace and I'm going to hit one of my favorite suspense pics from the 90's, Executive Decision. With its generic title and generic-sounding plot, if you haven't seen the picture you might think it's just a run-of-the-mill actioner. But oh, baby . . . it's so much more.

Steven Seagal's in it, but it ain't a Steven Seagal pic. He's just thrown in for a certain kind of dramatic effect, which you'll appreciate when you see the movie. The story opens with him, though, as he leads his commando squad on a raid to capture some deadly chemical weapons. Other dudes on the squad are John Leguizamo, B.D. Wong and Joe Morton, and they're some tough motherfuckers. Okay, but this is all just preface.

The real action starts with a hijacking. Some Islamic terrorists take over a jumbo jet headed into the U.S. and insist that their captured leader be released. Kurt Russell is a CIA analyst who's called in as an expert on the lead hijacker, a tough S.O.B. with the scary Arab name of Nagi Hassan (he's played by the quite awesome British actor David Suchet. The cast also includes the late, fabulous J.T. Walsh, and Marla Maples Trump . . . she's not bad).

Kurt suspects that this hijacking isn't just about some captured terrorist leader. No, he believes that Hassan has this horrible chemical weapon, and he's going to use the jumbo jet like a bomb to explode the chemical weapon over Washington. That means that the jet can't be allowed to enter U.S. airspace . . . but what about all the passengers?? You can't just shoot it down!

Fortunately, an aerospace engineer by the name of Cahill (Oliver Platt) has a solution: a special prototype stealth docking plane that can fly a team of commandos up to the commercial airliner and allow them to board. That's how Seagal's team gets aboard the plane . . . why Kurt Russell and Oliver Platt also end up there is another story.

So the mission: find the chemical weapons, take out the terrorists, and let the U.S. Air Force know not to fire on them, all while staying hidden in the bowels of the plane. To do this Russell enlists the help of Halle Berry, a stewardess with gumption to spare.

This is one suspenseful freaking film. But the best part is the very very end, which I will reveal to you now. Kurt Russell's Dr. David Grant spends the entire film wearing a tuxedo (because he was called in on this crisis from a cocktail party), and at the end of the picture, after his sudden appearance to Halle Berry in the plane's service elevator, and all his numerous acts of heroism, Berry, obviously attracted, corners him, while he's still clad in his tux, on the runway. "Who are you??" she asks, and before Russell can answer, a limo pulls up and the driver announces, "Dr. Grant, you're needed at the Pentagon."

Fucking A. Now that's how you impress a woman.

Executive Decision is an awesome, brilliant suspense picture. Highly, majorly recommended.