A couple days ago Fazer used this forum to lash out against UNDER SIEGE. What brought on this unjust attack against this fine motion picture still baffles me. But I will accept as my duty the job of proving why UNDER SIEGE is a landmark action film of the 90’s.As Fazer mentioned, and many others as well, Steven Seagal does not do a lot of bone-crunching martial arts in UNDER SIEGE. Compared to his pre-SIEGE films that is true. But you have to remember that Seagal’s early films were based around his martial arts abilities. UNDER SIEGE was more the case of a movie that stood on its own, with a little bit of Seagal’s style thrown in for seasoning. It should be noted that even with the overall lack of hand-to-hand combat, Seagal does demonstrate perhaps his highest kick in UNDER SIEGE. A kick so slow that we now know why he has never kicked anyone above the waist in a film since. Maybe he did in EXIT WOUNDS, but he was using wires in that one.
What truly marks UNDER SIEGE as the gold standard in DIE HARD rip-offs are the villains. Tommy Lee Jones is utterly brilliant as Strannix. One year after SIEGE Jones won an Oscar for his role in THE FUGITIVE. I defy anyone to watch those 2 films back-to-back and in their heart of hearts proclaim that he is more entertaining in THE FUGITIVE. Then after Jones you have Gary Busey. Not just run of the mill crazy Busey, but Busey in drag. If that isn’t enough you get Colm Meaney coming off the bench to lend his support in the evil department. The whole film is full of dudes who may not be household names but if you grew up watching as many action films as me then guys like Nick Mancuso, Raymond Cruz, Bernie Casey, and Dale Daye should ring a bell. Even Glenn Morshower, Aaron from “24,” is in this thing.
Is UNDER SIEGE my favorite Seagal film? No, that esteemed honor goes to MARKED FOR DEATH. But UNDER SIEGE will always mean a great deal to me. It reminds me of a simpler time when Seagal was an artist on the rise and not the bloated mess he is today. I’ll forever have an appetite for what Chef Ryback had cooking.
3 comments:
I am not sure that you are totally disagreeing with me here, but I understand the emotions I might have stirred up in you Chris.
I will second the action movie staples that are in this flick. I should have mentioned Mancuso in my original writeup. He was great, and good call on Morshower, I recognized him upon viewing, but I did not "recognize" him in the writeup
No harm no foul. I was glad to see Nick Mancuso show up in UNDER SIEGE 2 but I never understood why he wasn't made the main villain. It would have made sense since he was already a bit shady in the original. He would have been a better fit than Bogosian.
agreed. they were setting up mancuso's CIA boss character as a good foil for ryback's unorthodox shenanigans.
I too expected a bit more from him in US 2.
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