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| Warner Bros. | Release Date: October 9, 1992 |
Starring:
Damian Chapa, David McKnight, Gary Busey, Glenn Morshower, Lee Hinton, Patrick O'Neal, Steven Seagal, Troy Evans
Summary:
A Navy cook is the only person who can stop a group of terrorists when they seize control of a U.S. battleship.
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In the brutally efficient Under Siege, Seagal, with his soft-spoken nihilist charm, attempts to move beyond limb-snapping exploitation and into epically scaled mainstream thrillers. He succeeds — but only because this sort of slick action bash doesn’t require a star with much personality. At this point, personality might only get in the way.
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Seagal's "best" movie to date, handled with slick blandness by director Andrew Davis (reteaming with Seagal after the star's 1988 debut in "Above the Law). It's depraved and bloodthirsty stuff, which of course means that audiences will flock to this junk (to borrow a line from bone-snappin' Steve) like puppets in some sick play. [09 Oct 1992, p.22]
Director Andrew Davis (Seagal's Above the Law) and screenwriter J.F. Lawton (Pretty Woman) handle the early scenes fairly well. As the villains are putting their plan into place, the plot is involving and the pacing brisk. It's only after the bad guys take over the ship that the film begins to degenerate. The staging falls apart almost immediately, and, before long, it's not clear exactly what is happening and where. [06 Nov 1992, p.24]
Under Siege is dumb formula stuff, sensory jolts by the numbers. [09 Oct 1992, p.89]
May 16, 2019
"Die Hard" on a battleship, with a touch of "Dr. Strangelove". This is one of the earlier (and better) Die Hard rip-offs, and while Steven Seagal's Casey Ryback is not nearly as interesting as John McClane, the tension and violence deliver. Seagal's best by a long shot.
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