On U List of Movie Reviews
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Under Siege (1992)
Rate:
7
Viewed:
6/03, 1/20
1/20:
Under Siege marks a dramatic shift in style for Steven Seagal by going from low-budget policiers to big-budget
blockbusters.
I wish I can say the move was good, but honestly, I prefer him doing more of the same. If he had to do five or ten
more like the first four films, then so be it; they made money, period.
Like I said, Under Siege is a big-budget picture, undermining the uniqueness of Steve Seagal as he's transformed into
a mainstream martial arts star. Tommy Lee Jones and Gary Busey provide a lot of star power. Wanting to follow (?!?) Casey Ryback
into the middle of gunfire, Erika Eleniak starts off as annoying, but after changing her behavior in fifteen minutes, she
becomes tolerable but inexplicably wears a Navy uniform during the funeral at the end.
I find it hard to believe that a team of 30 bad guys can take over a battleship of roughly 2,000. While this was happening, I had been
thinking, "Why are the sailors surrendering so quickly?" They should be fighting back. Yes, some of them are going to die, but
it's part of the price they agreed to pay in exchange for their service. And the bullets going through the steel corridors,
will they be ricocheting off them all the time?
By the way, the battleship shown in the film is the USS Alabama. It's retired, having been converted into a museum, which
is currently situated in Mobile Bay, Alabama. Because the battleship is permanently docked there, the filmmakers had to use a
60-foot high black drape to block out the city in the background to give the idea the action was taking place in the middle
of the Pacific Ocean.
Notice Steven Seagal doesn't sport a ponytail this time. It's because the Navy has a regulation against hair that's longer than
four inches. In the movie poster, he wears his whites but ironically never does during the film, expressing his disdain
for such ceremonies.
All in all, I can watch Above the Law many times to death, but I'm always unenthusiastic
when it comes to Under Siege.