Under Siege 2: Dark Territory (1995)

Casey Ryback hops on a Colorado to LA train to start a vacation with his niece. Early into the trip, terrorists board the train and use it as a mobile HQ to hijack a top secret destructive US satellite.

Director:

Geoff Murphy

Writers:

Richard Hatem, Matt Reeves

Stars:

Steven Seagal, Eric Bogosian, Everett McGill

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Steven Seagal	...	Casey Ryback
Eric Bogosian	...	Travis Dane
Everett McGill	...	Marcus Penn
Katherine Heigl	...	Sarah Ryback
Morris Chestnut	...	Bobby Zachs
Peter Greene	...	Mercenary #1
Patrick Kilpatrick	...	Mercenary #2
Scott Sowers	...	Mercenary #3
Afifi Alaouie	...	Female Mercenary (as Afifi)
Andy Romano	...	Admiral Bates
Brenda Bakke	...	Captain Linda Gilder
Sandra Taylor	...	Kelly, Barmaid
Jonathan Banks	...	Scotty, Mercenary
David Gianopoulos	...	Captain David Trilling
Royce D. Applegate	...	Ryback's Cook

Storyline

Seal Team Commander Casey Ryback has retired from the Navy since the conclusion of the events in the first movie, and is now a chef at the Mile High Cafe in Denver, Colorado. Ryback is taking his niece Sarah Ryback on vacation, to reconnect and commiserate with her after the death of her parents. They board a train traveling westbound through the Rocky Mountains from Denver to LA. With the help of gun-for-hire Marcus Penn a couple dozen of his mercenaries, ex-CIA brain (and mentally unstable) Travis Dane commandeers the train, takes the passengers and crew hostage, and sets up a mobile control center. He hacks into the CIA database and gains control of a Top-Secret defence satellite he designed during his Agency days that has just been deployed. Funded by various foreign interests, he stands to make 1 billion dollars for using the space weapon to blow up the Eastern seaboard by targeting a nuclear reactor housed beneath the Pentagon. Dane taunts the Joint Chiefs in the Pentagon ...

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Plot Keywords:

repeat sequel | time bomb | good versus evil | man kills a woman | global positioning satellite | 

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Taglines:

A top secret nuclear satellite. A team of international terrorists. A government held hostage. An undetectable moving headquarters. Only one hero stands in the way.

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Genres:

Action | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong violence and language

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

14 July 1995 (USA)

Also Known As:

Under Siege 2: Dark Territory

Filming Locations:

Eagle Rock Mine, Colorado, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$60,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$12,624,402, 16 July 1995

Gross USA:

$50,024,083

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$104,324,083

Company Credits

Production Co:

Warner Bros., Regency Enterprises, Seagal/Nasso Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

100 min 92 min (16-rated)

Sound Mix:

SDDS Dolby

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Not screened for critics in the UK (where it was heavily cut by the BBFC). Despite this several publications fabricated reviews and faked a low rating as was the typical snobbery regarding action films at the time.

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Goofs

Penn is wearing a leg holster for his walkie-talkie through most of the movie, but at the knife fight (and just prior to the fight) it's gone.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Gen. Cooper: Tom, thanks for coming.

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Alternate Versions

An R2 Uncut Version has been released in Germany.

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Connections

Referenced in The Cinema Snob: Crackerjack 2: Hostage Train (2017)

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Soundtracks

AFTER THE TRAIN HAS GONE
Written and Produced by Steven Seagal and Todd Smallwood
Performed by Gregg Allman, Abraham McDonald, Todd Smallwood, Pepper Mashay (as Jean McClain) and Steven Seagal
Gregg Allman appears courtesy of 550 Music
Background vocals by Erica Bell and Tory Baker from the Hamilton High Gospel Choir - Fred Martin,
choir master

User Reviews

Best Steven Seagal movie yet. Exciting and re-watchable.

The best Steven Seagal movie to date. This is the second, and apparently the last, in the series in which Seagal plays Casey Ryback, an ex-Navy SEAL Captain, who, as explained in Under Siege, was demoted for punching out a superior for poor intelligence which got many of his men killed. In Under Siege 2, his character has been promoted from Chief to Lieutenant, although we only find that out in the end.

Unlike some of his earlier movies in which Seagal fights for causes, specifically liberal environmental issues, here Seagal is fighting strictly for family and Country. The first scene starts off with Seagal making his appearance in civilian clothes to dramatic music. We learn the grim news that his character's only brother and sister-in-law were killed in a plane crash, leaving his only relative, a niece, still alive. He accompanies the teenager on a train ride from Denver to LA. He has the bad luck, but good for his Country, to be on the train that is attacked by terrorists bent on destroying Washington, D.C., and the US eastern coast for profit only. The maniacal would-be killer of millions is character Travis Dane, recently fired by a Government agency. The terrorist method is a high-tech powerful new weapon orbiting the earth and the train moving through lonely mountains provides the screen, as in "Dark Territory". Seagal seems somewhat lucky to avoid being killed early on, but then becomes a locomotive of destruction for the bad guys. Andy Romano returns as the full admiral, chairman of the joint chiefs of staff and provides a continuity from the first Under Siege movie. This is all action showing Seagal as a dedicated and deadly force of protection for the train hostages and the citizens to the east. The action moves, and some of the death blows are right out of the military manual. Watchable over and over and still exciting.