Under Siege (1992)

An ex-Navy Seal turned cook is the only person who can stop a group of terrorists when they seize control of a U.S. battleship.

Director:

Andrew Davis

Writer:

J.F. Lawton

Stars:

Steven Seagal, Gary Busey, Tommy Lee Jones

Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 3 wins & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Steven Seagal	...	Casey Ryback
Damian Chapa	...	Tackman
Troy Evans	...	Granger
David McKnight	...	Flicker
Lee Hinton	...	Cue Ball
Patrick O'Neal	...	Captain Adams
Gary Busey	...	Commander Krill
Glenn Morshower	...	Ensign Taylor
Leo Alexander	...	Lt. Smart
John Rottger	...	Commander Green
Brad Rea	...	Marine Guard
Michael Welden	...	Lt. Ballard
Bernie Casey	...	Commander Harris
Rickey Pierre	...	Kitchen Helper
Raymond Cruz	...	Ramirez

Storyline

The battleship Missouri is about to be decomissioned. Casey Ryback is Captain Adam's personal cook. And Ryback is always butting heads with the ship's XO Commander Krill but the Captain always intercedes. One day, after the President visits the Missouri, which is also the Captain's birthday, the Captain learns that a helicopter has been cleared to land on the ship by Commander Krill, which he was not informed of. When questioned Krill tells the Captain that it's a surprise for his birthday, the Captain then allows it. Later after another one of their scuffles, Krill has Ryback locked in the freezer. During the party, the rock band reveals themselves to be mercenaries, led by William Stranix, a CIA operative, who is in league with Krill to unload all of the ship's nuclear warheads. They lock up all of the crew and make preparations to remove the warheads. And Krill remembers Ryback, Stranix sends two of his men to take care of Ryback, only thing is that Ryback took care of them. Upon ...

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Plot Keywords:

cook | battleship | terrorist plot | one against many | knife throwing | 

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Taglines:

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

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Genres:

Action | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

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

Details

Country:

France USA

Language:

English Italian

Release Date:

9 October 1992 (USA)

Also Known As:

Dreadnought

Filming Locations:

Fairhope, Alabama, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$35,000,000 (estimated)

Gross USA:

$83,363,139

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$156,400,000

Company Credits

Production Co:

Warner Bros.,Regency Enterprises,Canal+

Technical Specs

Runtime:

103 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Stereo (4 channels)

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Steven Seagal doesn't have his signature ponytail in the film. The Navy doesn't allow hair to be longer than four inches.

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Goofs

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.

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Quotes

William Strannix: You're a maniac. Drown your own crew.
Commander Krill: They never liked me anyway.
Doumer: I bet they fuckin' love ya now, huh?

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Crazy Credits

At the close of the credits: USS Missouri BB63 was decommissioned March 31, 1992 and is now moored at Bremerton Naval Yard, awaiting her next call to service.

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Alternate Versions

The version for Finnish theatrical and video release was heavily censored. The actual impact of most bullets was not shown. All fights involving knives were either heavily edited or removed entirely. Most notably: the scene in which a man is cut across his leg, then stabbed under his arm, was removed, along with that of a man being shoved into a bandsaw; the scene where Ryback rips out a man's larynx was cut out; the fight at the end between Ryback and Strannix did not show the eye gouge sequence nor did it show the head stabbing. The scene involving nudity was also cut.

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Connections

Referenced in Chuck: Chuck Versus Operation Awesome (2010)

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Soundtracks

LOVE YOU TO DEATH
Written by Gene Barge, Hiram Bullock, Tony Brown, Chris 'Hambone' Cameron,
Richard Davis, Tad Robinson, Wendall Wayne Stewart and Tommy Lee Jones
Produced by Hiram Bullock

User Reviews

Not great but an enjoyable action movie that is probably one of Seagal's most successful films

On board the Navy battleship USS Missouri, a group of terrorists use the rouse of a surprise party for the Captain as an opportunity to take control and start to load up the weapons – specifically tomahawks with nuclear tips. Lead by a bitter rouge CIA agent William Stranix, the group put their plan into action while the military struggles to formulate a fast response. Meanwhile, lowly cook Casey Ryback is locked in the meat locker for disobeying an order by the Commander but manages to get out and have the run of the ship. Luckily for him, but unluckily for the terrorists, Ryback also happens to be a trained Navy SEAL, working as a cook to serve out his time, and he doesn't like his cooking being interrupted by anyone.

In the wake of Die Hard we were treated (and still are treated) to lots of reruns of the "one man against terrorists" scenario and this film was one of the better ones, also providing Steven Seagal with arguably his best film to date. Of course this is not too much of a recommendation given the poor standard of Seagal films and this derivative genre. However, for what it is, it moves pretty slickly and provides lots of men shooting and things going "boom" which, lets be honest, is all we're really here for. The plot can't compare to Die Hard because it doesn't share the link of the "common man" being the hero (if you can call John McClane a common man); instead Ryback is a trained killer and the plot quickly loses any vague touch with reality as his fight becomes more and more extreme. The action is still enjoyable though and, while it isn't a classic in the realms of Die Hard, it is still an enjoyable action film in an overdone genre.

In terms of acting, nobody could accuse Seagal of being "good" but at least here he was at the "height" of his powers in a vehicle that suited him but also had a budget and style to work as a mainstream product. His lack of emotional range shows as he kneels over the body of his dead captain and looks like a man who has just missed his bus – annoyed but not THAT annoyed. However what he does do well is move and shoot – both skills the film has lots of for him to do and physically he is impressive. Eleniak should serve as a warning of the fleeting nature of a-list stardom for those that rely on looks alone. At the time she was the face (?) of Baywatch and on many people's bedroom walls and she plays an "actress" who is using her breasts to make a living – amazingly she plays it without a hint of irony. Looking back her dated haircut is hilarious and the fact that her breasts are the only thing that I can remember of her entire career to date is quite depressing. Jones and Busey can do crazy bad guys better than many people and they do it well here – especially Jones, who appears to be enjoying himself immensely.

Overall this is an enjoyable action film as long as you know what you are getting into – it is not great but it is certainly one of the more enjoyable Seagal films and does manage to be a good entry in the genre and it was no surprise to me that Seagal came back for me in a less successful but equally as silly and enjoyable sequel.