Under Siege (1 & 2)
UNDER SIEGE (15)
D: Andrew Davis
Warner Bros. (Arnon Milchan, Steven Seagal & Steven
Reuther)
US 1992
102 mins
Action/Thriller
W: J.F. Lawton
DP: Frank Tidy
Ed: Robert A. Ferretti
Mus: Gary Chang
Steven Seagal (Casey Ryback), Tommy Lee Jones (Bill
Strannix), Gary Busey (Krill), Erika Eleniak (Jordan Tate), Colm Meaney (Daumer), Patrick O'Neal (Capt. Adams)
Probably the first action film to utilise the Die Hard
formula of one man against an army of bad guys to good effect, taking place on an American battleship where Navy SEAL-turned-cook Casey Ryback (Steven Seagal) takes on a team of terrorists
who threaten to unleash the payload of weaponry unless they get their own way.
Of course, it's all far fetched nonsense with some rather
wooden performances (Seagal and Eleniak mostly), but there's enough thrills and spills to keep it ticking over, while the energetic performances of the two bad guys (Gary Busey and Tommy Lee
Jones) more than make up for the ropier performances.
6/10
UNDER SIEGE II: DARK
TERRITORY (15)
D: Geoff Murphy
Warner Bros./Regency (Arnon Milchan, Steven Seagal
& Steve Perry)
US 1995
99 mins
Action/Thriller
W: Richard Hatem & Matt Reeves
DP: Robbie Greenberg, Alexander Witt & Rick
Bota
Ed: Michael Tronick
Mus: Basil Poledouris
Steven Seagal (Casey Ryback), Eric Bogosian (Travis
Dane), Everett McGill (Marcus Penn), Katherine Heigl (Sarah Ryback), Morris Chestnut (Bobby Zachs)
1992's Under Siege was good fun, but not quite good
enough to warrant a sequel. In fact, this isn't one, it just features the same character (although he's just a chef in this, having left the navy) in another fight against terrorists
utilising the Die Hard formula which has since become incredibly stale.
The location here is a high speed train, which the bad
guys plan to use as a mobile military platform. It also throws in a niece character for some reason (Katharine Heigl), though she's given barely anything to do except sit down and look
scared.
A lacklustre sequel which deserved to go completely
under the radar.
3/10
