If it's a given that infamous international events - like the assassination of President John F. Kennedy - which have never been fully satisfactorily explained are fair game for conspiracy theorists then Executive Action has as much right as any other to its moment in the sun. The first obligation of any film expounding a conspiracy is plausibility and the movie asserts nothing that is beyond the capabilities of a well- to-highly organised group of like-minded people with virtually unlimited funds and access to a network of highly-skilled professional assassins. in saying this I may have underlined just a fraction of the difficulties faced by any group of fanatics who have no use for a democratic form of government. If we put this to one side we are left with some excellent performances. If Robert Ryan is the best actor overall by a country mile - and here I'm basing judgment on a lifetime career - then Burt Lancaster and Will Geer are certainly fit to be mentioned in the same breath. All in all a provocative and entertaining film.

Ten Years After the Fact, this Film Combines Fact and Speculation on the Assassination of John F. Kennedy, and is one of the First in the "Conspiracy Wave" beginning in the Early Seventies, not just on the Assassination but other Important Things as well. It is a Low-Budget Precursor to Oliver Stone's "JFK" (1991).Hitting a number of "Points" that have been Regurgitated Endlessly since, it must be Credited for its Big Screen Recreation of the Anti-Warren Commission Theorists. The Movie, as were said "Theorists" (at the time), considered Absolute Bunk and Anti-American.The Movie was not received favorably among the Public and Critics and Obviously the Power Elite were Not Pleased. Long Forgotten, Little Seen Movie with Two Mega Stars, Burt Lancaster and Robert Ryan is Now Considered a Cold Tempered, Cold War, Minimalist Movie that is to the point and Endlessly Engaging, especially if one is Not of a Single and Closed Mind on the Subject.The Tone is Bleak fitting the Story at hand and makes its Case with a Calculated Effort using Real Newsreels and Ominous, Rogue Elements of Corporations and Government. Must See Viewing for Anyone Interested in Informed Speculation, Misinformation, Disinformation, and the News Beneath the Headlines.

David Miller directed this speculative conspiracy film dealing with the assassination of U.S. President John F. Kennedy on Nov.22,1963, which this film theorizes was a combination of government and business interests, threatened by the social change and end of the Vietnamese war they feared would lead to disaster. Burt Lancaster, Robert Ryan, Will Gear, John Anderson, and Ed Lauter round out the cast of conspirators. Despite the explosive nature of this material(explored far better in later film "JFK") this film is inexplicably tame, presented in a coldly indifferent fashion most unsuited to the premise. Good cast keeps you interested, but film is ultimately a misfire.

Although this film has been eclipsed by Oliver Stone's JFK, Executive Action points to an alternative view of the Kennedy Assassination. Names are definitely changed to protect the innocent or the falsely accused depending on your point of view.The conspiracy is hatched in the study of Robert Ryan who is an unnamed right-wing millionaire concerned about the direction of policy the Kennedy administration is taking. Three issues are of concern, the negotiations for a nuclear test ban treaty with the Russians, the growing civil rights movement which Kennedy was now embracing, and the Vietnam War. Another of the concerned citizens is Will Geer playing your stereotypical right-wing oil millionaire. He's concerned about the oil depletion allowance that has made him the super rich guy that he is. Geer's character is clearly based on H.L. Hunt.Burt Lancaster is the operations guy, he's got a history of black ops for the government and for private citizens like Geer. He puts together the shooters and he's got a plan to set up a patsy in Lee Harvey Oswald.Most people in the USA have a casual familiarity with the bare-bones facts of the Kennedy Assassination so the film will come in for its share of criticism. The film is based on a book by Mark Lane who is a Kennedy Assassination specialist and left-wing gadfly. That in and of itself is guaranteed to give the film its detractors.At least in two areas the assassination failed to do what it set out to accomplish. Kennedy become a martyr and the Texas and Southern Vice President who succeeded him, Lyndon B. Johnson pushed the civil rights and voting rights legislation that changed America forever. The nuclear test ban treaty was never abrogated, no one ever raised the possibility.JFK's demise never accomplished what they wanted, preservation of their little right-wing world. As for the film, Executive Action gives a plausible theory of the assassination, but nothing more.