Under Siege - The best Steven Seagal movie... Ever

Okay, so that’s not saying much.  Seagal has hardly had a glittering career as far as ‘critically acclaimed’ movies go.  Let’s face it... he’s a B-movie actor at best (and not always a very good one!).  His films normally involve him beating up baddies, as he can throw a pretty decent punch and a kick, although, recently, that’s come into question as he’s got older!

However, ‘Under Siege’ is one of those movies that is so simple that everything just works.  It’s impossible to talk about it without mentioning ‘Die Hard,’ largely because it’s basically the same film, but set on a boat.  There were even rumours going around in the mid nineties that Under Siege stopped production on Die Hard 3 because the third instalment of the Die Hard franchise was also going to be set on a boat and they didn’t think they could outdo Under Siege.

Terrorists overtake a US Navy ship.  Steven Seagal fights back.  That’s all you need to know.  It’s a simple action movie that anyone can understand.  It doesn’t try to be anything different.  There are countless others like it, but few that actually stand the test of time.  This one does.  Although there isn’t really anything I can tell you which really differentiates it from the masses, apart from the fact that it works.  If you’re in the mood for an action film, watch it.  It’ll do the job.  Yes, there are also pretty decent performances from some of the other cast (mainly Tommy Lee Jones as the – cartoon-obsessed – baddie), but it’s the whole package that makes this one stand out from the other.

Naturally, after Under Siege’s success at the Box Office, a sequel was green-lit.  Sadly, lightning didn’t strike twice and it was pretty poor and fell into the category of all the other forgettable action B-movies.  Just stick to the original.  It doesn’t try to be anything other than a fun action flick.  And, in that, it succeeds totally.

8/10 The Force is definitely strong with this one