Under Siege (1992)

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:

Cook | Battleship | Navy Seal | Warhead | Playmate

Awards:

Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 2 wins & 1 nomination

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

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:

102 min

Country:

France | USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

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 | Canada:14A | 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 (Certifitcate #32058) | UK:15 (cut)

Filming Locations:

Fairhope, Alabama, USA

Company:

Warner Bros. Pictures

Trivia:

Nine of the actors in this film, including Tommy Lee Jones, returned a year later to appear in the film The Fugitive (1993), also directed by Andrew Davis.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: During the shootout scene where Ryback is locked in the freezer, the two terrorists are supposedly carrying suppressed (silenced) HK MP5ks . However, when fired they are not properly suppressed leading one to believe that the "Silencers" were not functional, or the sound was added later in post.

Quotes:

Casey Ryback: Krill's a maniac! Go tell the captain he spit in my soup!

Movie Connections:

Spoofed in Splinter Cell (2002) (VG)

Soundtrack:

WHISKEY FEVER

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