As you probably already know, "Executive Decision" is "Die Hard" on a plane. Or "Speed" on a plane, or "Under Siege" on a plane . . . choose your own thriller.

But the first quarter also plays like a high-tech remake of "Airport '75."

That film was about a passenger airliner that was struck by a small plane, killing the co-pilot and blinding the pilot. So, a flight attendant (Karen Black) took over until another pilot (Charlton Heston) could be airlifted to the jetliner and dropped into the cockpit.

In "Executive Decision," a special forces team (led by Steven Seagal, who is not billed in the opening credits) boards an experimental stealth plane to meet up with a 747 that has been taken hostage by a band of Middle Eastern terrorists. The idea is to sneak the team on board by quietly linking the two planes in flight, five miles above the Atlantic, before U.S. air space is reached.

The boarding scene is so exciting that it feels like the film has blown its big suspense sequence far too early. But there is plenty of tension to come, as the team tries to keep its presence secret while plotting how to take over without killing passengers.

They also have to disarm a bomb that could wipe out the entire Eastern seaboard.

The team includes an intelligence analyst (Kurt Russell) and the scientist who designed the stealth plane for midflight boarding (Oliver Platt), along with Seagal's ethnically diverse military men — Joe Morton, B.D. Wong, Joe Leguizamo and Whip Hubley. And among the 747 crew is a brave flight attendant (Halle Berry) who will be called upon for assistance.

Scenes in which a seriously injured bomb expert (Morton) helps a nerdy scientist (Platt) disable the sensitive explosive device are especially exciting, but there are quite a few scenes — including the protracted climax — that will have audience-members gripping the arms of their theater chairs.

What bolsters this thriller, bumping it up a notch above most, is the presence of real actors like Russell, Platt, Morton and Leguizamo, as well as the surprising sure hand of first-time director Stuart Baird (a veteran film editor) and top-flight technical work. (Seagal fans, however, risk disappointment; his role is rather brief.)

Unfortunately, screenwriter brothers Jim and John Thomas (the "Predator" films, "The Rescue") employ too many plot holes, silly contrivances and lapses in logic. Middle East stereotypes may also offend, especially when someone walks into a crowded restaurant and blows it up for no apparent reason; the brief scene, which occurs early in the film, is never tied into the movie's plot.

The casting directors also have something to answer for, as Marla Maples Trump makes an inauspicious appearance as a flight attendant. Her dialogue has apparently been left on the cutting-room floor; she spends most of her screen time mugging wildly.

In all, "Executive Decision" is dumb but exhilarating stuff.

The film is rated R for considerable violence (but no gore) and a few scattered profanities.