Under Siege (1992)

Director:

Andrew Davis

Writer (WGA):

J.F. Lawton (written by)

Release Date:

9 October 1992 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Crime | 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 | Party | Playmate | Warhead

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:

MPAA:

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

Runtime:

103 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 | Portugal:M/12 | 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:

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:

Continuity: When Cates and Ziggs release Ryback from the meat locker, they slide the sharpening steel the door is jammed with away behind them, several yards from the door. But when Ryback leaves the meat locker and locks the terrorists in, he picks up the steel from right next to the door.

Quotes:

Doumer:You're incredible, Ryback. It's a shame you're not cooking for *us*.
[Jordan shoots Doumer in the back]
Casey Ryback:[to Jordan] Next thing I know, you'll be dating musicians.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Mystery Science Theater 3000: Radar Secret Service (#6.20)" (1993)

Soundtrack:

THE POWER

Steven Seagal's best!!

This is by far Seagals best film and his only one that you could truly call good. His others range from average to just plain awful, but this is a great action film. Its basically Dies Hard on a boat, but is one of the few successful Die Hard clones. Andrew Davis made this before The Fugitive, and his direction is tense and exciting, whats more he gets Seagals best performance which basically means he is slightly less wooden than usual.

The plot revolves around this Battleship which is being taken out of use. On its final run, coinciding with the captains birthday, the ship gets hi-jacked by terrorists who plan to use the nuclear weapons on board. Seagal a former Navy Seal, with more medals than a medal shop, is on board as the ships cook, as this is the only position he can occupy in the ship after he was involved in a military blunder previously. Seagal uses his skills to cause problems for the terrorists as he sets out to stop them, aided by Miss July 89 Jordan The played by the sexy and melon chested Erika Eleniak who is certainly there for her looks ahead of acting ability, she is however a cut above Seagal in the acting department.

The action in this is great, Seagals usual Aikido master class is on display as well as some good gun fights, and impressive stunts. Seagal has always had a bit of paunch but he looks a lot fitter than his recent films where he lumbers about, in his earlier films he actually seems in some sort of shape and actually looks tough.

Overall this is an entertaining film, Tommy Lee Jones and Gary Busey are in scene stealing form as the bad guys and Seagal is at the top of his game. 8/10