Under Siege (1992)

User Rating:

6.2/10   

Director:

Andrew Davis

Writer (WGA):

J.F. Lawton (written by)

Release Date:

9 October 1992 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Drama | Thriller

Tagline:

It's not a job...It's an Adventure!

Plot:

A former SEAL, now cook, is the only person who can stop a gang of terrorists when they sieze control of a US Navy battleship.

Plot Keywords:

Party | Turret | Mobile Alabama | Playmate | Stabbed In The Head

Awards:

Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 2 wins & 1 nomination

US TV Schedule:

Sat. Oct. 18

2:30 AM

HBO

Cast

Steven Seagal	...	Casey Ryback
Tommy Lee Jones	...	William Stranix
Gary Busey	...	Cmdr. Krill
Erika Eleniak	...	Jordan Tate
Colm Meaney	...	Doumer
Patrick O'Neal	...	Capt. Adams
Andy Romano	...	Adm. Bates
Nick Mancuso	...	Tom Breaker
Damian Chapa	...	Tackman
Troy Evans	...	Granger
David McKnight	...	Flicker
Lee Hinton	...	Cue Ball
Glenn Morshower	...	Ens. Taylor
Leo Alexander	...	Lt. Smart
John Rottger	...	Cmdr. Green

Also Known As:

Dreadnought (USA) (original script title)
Piège en haute mer (France)

MPAA:

Rated R for strong violence, and for language and brief nudity.

Runtime:

103 min

Country:

France | USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby | Dolby SR

Certification:

Canada:13+ (Québec) (re-rating) (2003) | Canada:16+ (Québec) (original rating) | Canada:AA (Ontario) | Canada:PA (Manitoba) | Canada:A (Nova Scotia) | Finland:K-16 (cut) | Iceland:16 | Finland:K-15 (uncut) (VHS rating) | UK:15 (uncut) (cinema release) | UK:18 (uncut) | Norway:15 (cut) (cinema rating) | New Zealand:M | Argentina:16 | Australia:M | Finland:K-18 | Germany:18 | Norway:18 | Singapore:M18 | South Korea:15 (original rating) (cut) | South Korea:18 (re-rating) (uncut) | Spain:13 | Sweden:15 | USA:R | UK:15 (cut)

Filming Locations:

Fairhope, Alabama, USA

Company:

Warner Bros. Pictures

Trivia:

The large turret weapon that is used to shoot down the American jet is a Phalanx CIWS, which combines radar and computer targetting with a 20mm armour piercing projectile to provide a short range defense system firing approximately 75 rounds per second. In the War Room, when the inventory of the Missouri is read out, they noted that the ship was carrying "40,000 rounds of Sea Whizz" which is an often-used reference to the CIWS, Close-In Weapon System. Because of the radar dome shape, the CIWS is sometimes referred to as an R2D2.

Goofs:

Factual errors: The assault team is in a CH 46 Sea Knight helicopter, not a CH 53 as stated. The Navy doesn't use attack helicopters, let alone the AH 64 Apache as this is used only by the US Army. The Marine Corps which is a part of the Navy would be using AH 1W Cobra attack helicopter but not in the role shown on this movie.

Quotes:

Casey Ryback: Get my pies out of the oven!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Seinfeld: The Doodle (#6.19)" (1995)

Soundtrack:

LOVE YOU TO DEATH

Pretty impressive for a cook.

The best film of Steven Seagal's less-than-stellar repertoire casts him as a disgraced former S.E.A.L. who now works as a cook on the U.S.S. Missouri. Terrorists, led by Tommy Lee Jones, are assisted by rogue officer Gary Busey, and take control of the battleship. However, in the style of "Die Hard", Casey Ryback (Seagal) slips through their fingers and works to foil their plans.

This is a slick, high-tech, technically well-made action thriller that should satisfy fans of the genre, and to this date it's the best Seagal film that I've seen. Good supporting cast, too; Jones and Busey are thoroughly entertaining villains.

The script is not as impressive (the change in Erika Eleniak's character seems sort of abrupt), of course; it's rather routine; but who ever watches these things for the scripts?

"Under Siege" is actually worth checking out.

7/10