The Siege
Starring Denzel Washington, Annette Bening and Bruce Willis. Directed By Edward Zwick Running Time: 1 hour 55 minutes.
(20th Century Fox)
With the look, and sometimes feel, of a typical, 'no-brainer' Hollywood action movie, The Siege is surprisingly so much more. A well crafted film from the unknown veteran Edward Zwick, and with an superb cast, The Siege is a much better film than it should be. The story centres around New York, which is suffering from a massive bombing attacks from Arab terrorists. FBI agent Anthony Hubbard (Washington) and his team are trying to solve which terrorist group is committing these acts, and to stop them. Helping him is Elise Kraft (a stand-out Bening) who has a somewhat shady history. The attacks become so great, however, that martial law is soon declared on the city, led by General Devereaux (Willis), and many injustices are being caused on innocent Arabs living in the city. Hubbard soon wants to stop the terrorists, and the American army.
Zwicks third collaboration with Washington, after Glory and Courage Under Fire is a thought provoking, exciting thriller. The cast and director help immeasurably to make the film an enjoyable spectacle. Washington is suitably edgy and tough as the run down FBI agent who gets increasingly pissed as the events around him unfold. He can convey all emotions from fear to sadness, which is lucky because the film demands all of them. Bening is as usual excellent, giving a much, _much_ better performance than this film really deserves. While many great actresses feel embarrassed doing films like these and deliver an lazy performance, Bening gives it her all as usual, treating this film like any other she's done. It's a shame that she is just known as 'Warren Beattys wife' at the moment, she is so much more than this. The weak link comes as Bruce Willis, still desperately trying to prove he's a thesp, and not John McClane. He gets an A+ for effort, but a C for execution. He's performance is not a total shambles, but when put against Washington and Bening both on seemingly very good days, it was going to be tough for him. He hasn't got much screen time, but when he is on screen he makes little impact, which is a shame. Also, his hair seems to get crazier in every movie. But one relatively unknown actor who gives probably the best performance, especially for a supporting one, is Tony Shalhoub, superb as a translator on Washingtons team. He leaves a big impression on the audience, and delivers a thoroughly enjoyable and memorable performance. Sadly, he somewhat pales when put next to Denzel and Annette.
Zwick handles the subject matter superbly, with fast paced action and tons of dramatic tension. The initial encounter with the terrorists involving a bus is incredibly frightening and well handled, and the scenes of panic when martial law is enforced are also well handled. The way the film looks at Arabs is well handled by screenwriter Lawrence Wright, although the dialogue could be a bit stronger, which is one of the films failings. Also, it's good to see the way the government handle the middle east situation in a believable way, not the usual 'kick all their asses in' (portrayed in True Lies.) The music is suitable suspenseful, the special effects and pyrotechnics well done.
In the end, The Siege is a great thriller, that will appeal to many ages. Although it may be a bit too patriotic for world wide audiences, it's great to see an action movie with a little bit of thought behind it. Recommended.
RATING=**** OUT OF *****
A David Wilcock Review ©1999
DAVID WILCOCK david.wilcock@btinternet.com Visit the Wilcock Movie Page! http://wilcockmovie.home.ml.org -OR- http://www.geocities.com/Hollywood/9061 Recieve Wilcock Movie Page Reviews via E-MAIL Send a blank E-MAIL to wmp-reviews-subscribe@makelist.com to join the mailing list!
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