UNDER SIEGE
A film review by Ken Johnson
Copyright 1992 Ken Johnson
100 min., R, Action, 1992 Director: Andrew Davis Cast: Steven Segal, Tommy Lee Jones, Gary Busey, Erika Eleniak, Colm Meany, Andy Romano, Patrick O'Neal, Michael Des Barres
Aboard a heavily armed warship, the captain's, Patrick O'Neal, birthday is coming up. The crew plans a surprise party for O'Neal and brings aboard a centerfold girl, Erika Eleniak, and a band. Unfortunately for them, the band is a gang of revolutionists lead by Tommy Lee Jones, who take over the ship. The only man on board who can stop them is the cook, Steven Segal.
I just saw Steven Segal's newest film UNDER SIEGE and loved it. I highly suggest that you go and see this film. I think that it is Segal's best film yet. This film is all that the television advertisements made it out to be, and much more. On a scale of zero to five, I give UNDER SIEGE a five. UNDER SIEGE is rated R for explicit language, graphic violence, and brief female nudity.
The special effects for this film are great. This film is a lot gorier than most of Segal's earlier films, but the gore doesn't feel out of place. In my opinion, it only adds to the film. The sets for the film are excellent and really place the film well. This is definitely a film to see in the theaters, because it will lose so much on a small screen.
Segal gives his normal unemotional performance, that I feel makes him the popular actor that he is. He seems to have no problem running around a warship breaking people's arms and the like. Tommy Lee Jones gives the best performance in this film as the crazy revolutionist. His performance is extremely realistic, and at some points even scary. Gary Busey also played a person who is not entirely there. Like Tommy Lee Jones, Busey gave an excellent performance. Erika Eleniak was a surprise in this film; she started out as the typical action movie bimbo that Hollywood seems to stick into most of this kind of film. At first the only reason that I thought that she was put in the film was to provide the one brief scene of gratuitous nudity, but part way through the film she changed and actually became a use to Segal.
There isn't much to say about the writing. It is of the usual "slam bam" action film quality. It doesn't hurt or help the film much at all. The direction by Andrew Davis, who has done ABOVE THE LAW which also starred Steven Segal, is good and certainly doesn't hurt the film.
-------- Ken Johnson blj@mithrandir.cs.unh.edu
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