Under Siege

This was a fast-moving Rambo-style action flick (good guys never get hit despite 10,000 rounds of ammunition fired at them) that was very popular. It spawned a very weak sequel, par for the course. Several reviewers here wrote that it is Steven Seagal's "best movie," and I wouldn't argue with that..

"Under Siege" probably was more popular than the normal Segal action flick because of several aspects: 1 - the interesting story featuring the "lowly cook" (as Seagal described himself in this film) beating a bunch of terrorists taking over a U.S. Navy vessel; 2 - the over-the-top villains portrayed by fun-to-watch actors Tommy Lee Jones and Gary Busey, and 3 - the fabulous looks and body of Erika Eleniak, who pops out of a cake topless in a sight that every guy who saw this film remembers.

Jones was just about hitting his acting career peak as he demonstrated the following year with his Oscar-winning performance in "The Fugitive." Busey was the opposite, nearing the end of his run after a starring role as singer "Buddy Holly" made him famous.

This film might be Segal's most successful, or at least in the top three. His star has faded since the new century. Eleniak never made it far past the cake. She played "Elly May" in "The Beverly Hillbillies" the following year and nothing but 'B' films after that.

The first part of this movie is far better than the second. It gets out-of-control by the end, as most of these action films do with the violence overdone and with little credibility. But watching the three leads, and ogling Eleniak, always make this film fun to watch for a little while, at least.

The fact that I'd give any Steven Segal movie a 7 is a shock to me. But, I must admit, it's a good film and he actually was very well cast in the movie!

When the story begins, the psychotic Executive Officer (Gary Busey) of the USS Missouri battleship (it's actually the USS Alabama in the movie) is planning on a party for the Commanding Officer. However, I did say he was psychotic and the man is actually in charge of bringing aboard some other psychotics so that they can take over the ship...a ship armed with nuclear and all sorts of other weapons! Fortunately, one of the few men not captured by the evil commandos is Ryback (Segal) and he apparently is more than a match for the hijackers!

There are two minor problems with the movie that kept me from giving it a higher score. First, the film is essentially DIE HARD but on a ship instead of in an office building. Second, Erika Eleniak's character is simply terrible and it seemed obvious that she was tacked onto the script at the last minute. She had little reason for being there and her character was simply awfully written...at first whiny and proclaiming "I hate guns" and "I won't kill anyone" even after the killing starts....and then later, this stripper character suddenly becomes a commando-type!!! This makes no sense nor did most of her dialog.

These problems not withstanding, it IS a very tense and entertaining film. Plus, Segal is perfectly cast as his aikido skills don't always make sense in his other films...but her in small confined spaces it worked well....and Segal also tended to mumble less than usual. Overall, a fun film....just turn off your brain and enjoy it, as such a story really could NOT happen but the filmmakers made it seem like it could.

Seagal's fifth film with lots of violence, suspense, struggles and action-filled. This Steven Seagal's splendid film deals about a tough cook-marine , he's a SEAL and Aikido expert. Ryback teams up with a playboy girl (Erika Eleniak), forming a sympathetic duo. Casey takes on nuclear arms smugglers and undergoes a violent confrontation some corrupt terrorists ( two exaggerated villains as Tommy Lee Jones, Gary Busey) and their criminal hoodlums.

The picture packs unstopped action, thrills,fighting , shootouts, suspense and is quite entertaining.Violent and not particularly literary but worthy entry in action genre and realized in ¨Die hard¨ style. Wooden Seagal plays the violent Casey Ryback, he cleans up the battleship by means of punch, kicks, bounds and leaps, martial arts abound with fights certainly slick.The Aikido expert Seagal saves the day in this exciting movie which also co-produced .In the film appears many secondary roles played by prestigious players as Patrick O'Neal,Colm Meany, Damian Chapa, Raymond Cruz , Bernie Casey, Nick Mancuso and several others.

Elaborately produced action film with two-fisted Seagal is just another action film full of struggles ,thrills, noise and lots of violence. Ever-wooden Seagal as almost always, playing a stalwart and loner fighter, he delivers the goods in his own style full of usual violence and fights with snapping wrists and worth it just to see Steve in action. Atmospheric musical score by Gary Chang though composed by synthesizer and appropriate cinematography by Frank Tidy. The picture was made in the Seagal's best period when he played high budget movies such as ¨Hard to kill¨(1990 by Bruce Malmuth), this ¨Under siege¨ ( Seagal's best film to date, 92), and the sequel titled : ¨Dark territory¨ (1995, Geoff Murphy), ¨Executive decision¨ (96 by Stuart Baird), ¨Glimmer man¨ (96, John Gray), ¨Exit wounds¨(2001, Andre Bartkowiak), among others. Nowadays he does fairly low standards, lesser budget and direct to video , such as ¨Half past dead¨, ¨The foreigner¨ and its sequel, ¨Shadow man ¨, ¨Flight of fury¨, ¨Urban justice¨ and many others.

Director Andrew Davis who previously gave credibility to Chuck Norris in 'Code of silence' teams up with Aikido expert Seagal for this action-filled thriller.The picture contains enough action and violence for fans of the genre and the addicts will give this a passing grade because is professionally directed by Andrew Davis. He has shot most of his films in Chicago and he's an action movies expert(The guardian, Collateral damage, Chain reaction, The fugitive) and again directed to Seagal in this his best movie . This is a thrilling picture, ,exciting and tense at times with fine work ,as always, from director Andrew Davis. If you're a former Steven Seagal fan you'll like it because is a strong outing for action buffs. The result is a strong outing for action enthusiasts and Seagal is fun to watch.

On board the Navy battleship USS Missouri, a group of terrorists use the rouse of a surprise party for the Captain as an opportunity to take control and start to load up the weapons – specifically tomahawks with nuclear tips. Lead by a bitter rouge CIA agent William Stranix, the group put their plan into action while the military struggles to formulate a fast response. Meanwhile, lowly cook Casey Ryback is locked in the meat locker for disobeying an order by the Commander but manages to get out and have the run of the ship. Luckily for him, but unluckily for the terrorists, Ryback also happens to be a trained Navy SEAL, working as a cook to serve out his time, and he doesn't like his cooking being interrupted by anyone.

In the wake of Die Hard we were treated (and still are treated) to lots of reruns of the "one man against terrorists" scenario and this film was one of the better ones, also providing Steven Seagal with arguably his best film to date. Of course this is not too much of a recommendation given the poor standard of Seagal films and this derivative genre. However, for what it is, it moves pretty slickly and provides lots of men shooting and things going "boom" which, lets be honest, is all we're really here for. The plot can't compare to Die Hard because it doesn't share the link of the "common man" being the hero (if you can call John McClane a common man); instead Ryback is a trained killer and the plot quickly loses any vague touch with reality as his fight becomes more and more extreme. The action is still enjoyable though and, while it isn't a classic in the realms of Die Hard, it is still an enjoyable action film in an overdone genre.

In terms of acting, nobody could accuse Seagal of being "good" but at least here he was at the "height" of his powers in a vehicle that suited him but also had a budget and style to work as a mainstream product. His lack of emotional range shows as he kneels over the body of his dead captain and looks like a man who has just missed his bus – annoyed but not THAT annoyed. However what he does do well is move and shoot – both skills the film has lots of for him to do and physically he is impressive. Eleniak should serve as a warning of the fleeting nature of a-list stardom for those that rely on looks alone. At the time she was the face (?) of Baywatch and on many people's bedroom walls and she plays an "actress" who is using her breasts to make a living – amazingly she plays it without a hint of irony. Looking back her dated haircut is hilarious and the fact that her breasts are the only thing that I can remember of her entire career to date is quite depressing. Jones and Busey can do crazy bad guys better than many people and they do it well here – especially Jones, who appears to be enjoying himself immensely.

Overall this is an enjoyable action film as long as you know what you are getting into – it is not great but it is certainly one of the more enjoyable Seagal films and does manage to be a good entry in the genre and it was no surprise to me that Seagal came back for me in a less successful but equally as silly and enjoyable sequel.

Steven Segal's greatest movie ever. Bar none. Who could ever have sold the idea of an ex-Navy Seal-turned-cook could ever kick that much butt in any movie. No one. Segal's tongue in cheek performance was great, talking like he had something to prove in just about every line, trying not to crack a smile due to the cracker-jack dialogue that was created for this specific role. Tommy Lee Jones, Colm Meaney and Erika Eleniak were all okay in this film, but Segal was clearly what made this film. What especially made everything enjoyable in this film was the lack of artistry. This was purely for made fo the joke it is, a funny-bad delight that was supposed to impress us with stupid dialogue and big action. Chalk one up for the big guy.