Under Siege
| Under Siege | |
|---|---|
 Under Siege film poster | |
| Directed by | Andrew Davis[1] |
| Written by | J. F. Lawton |
| Produced by | Arnon Milchan Steven Seagal Steven Reuther |
| Starring | Steven Seagal Tommy Lee Jones Gary Busey Erika Eleniak |
| Cinematography | Frank Tidy |
| Edited by | Robert A. Ferretti |
| Music by | Gary Chang |
Production companies | |
| Distributed by | Warner Bros. |
Release date | October 9, 1992 |
Running time | 103 minutes |
| Countries | United States France |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $35,000,000 |
| Box office | $156,563,139 |
Under Siege is a 1992 action film directed by Andrew Davis and stars Steven Seagal as a former Navy SEAL who must stop a group of mercenaries, led by Tommy Lee Jones and Gary Busey, on a U.S. Navy battleship.[2] It is Seagal's most successful film in critical and financial terms, including two Academy Award nominations.
Under Siege was followed by a 1995 sequel, Under Siege 2: Dark Territory.
Plot
The film begins with the American battleship USS Missouri (BB-63) arriving at Pearl Harbor, where the President of the United States makes a speech announcing that after the Missouri's long time service, the ship will be decommissioned in California, making the trip her final voyage. Casey Ryback (Seagal), a Chief Petty Officer assigned as a cook, is preparing meals in celebration for the birthday of Captain Adams (Patrick O'Neal), against the orders of his adversarial Executive Officer, Commander Krill (Busey), who is having food and entertainment brought from Hawaii by helicopter after they have set out to sea. Krill provokes a brawl in the galley with Ryback, who assaults Krill. Unable to imprison him in the brig without clearance from the captain or attracting attention, Krill detains Ryback in a freezer and places a Marine private on guard to prevent Ryback from leaving. A CH-46 helicopter lands on the ship's deck with a musical band called "Bad Billy and the Bail Jumpers", along with Playboy Playmate "Miss July '89" Jordan Tate (Erika Eleniak) and a group of caterers who are all really a band of mercenaries led by ex-CIA agent Bill Strannix (Jones). Shortly after the party begins, Strannix, posing as the band leader, pulls out a gun and kills the highest ranking officer in the room, then all the caterers and band members pull out weapons and seize control of the ship with the help of Commander Krill, who is revealed to be a double agent. Several of the officers are killed during the takeover, including Captain Adams. The rest of the ship's company are imprisoned below decks in the forecastle, except for several stragglers in secured areas.
Strannix intends to steal the ship's arsenal of nuclear Tomahawk cruise missiles and plan to sell the nuclear weapons on the black market by unloading them onto a submarine Strannix had stolen from North Korea while on his final CIA mission, then kept for himself when the CIA tried to assassinate him and used for private arms trading. Strannix and his men take over the ship's weapon systems for defense, shooting down an F/A-18 Hornet sent to investigate, and plan on covering their escape by launching a missile strike into Honolulu that will obliterate tracking systems in Pearl Harbor.
Ryback has become suspicious upon hearing gun fire and tells the Marine guard, Private Nash (Tom Wood), to contact the ship's bridge. Krill then remembers Ryback and learns the kitchen is an unsecured area on the ship, and manages to dupe Pvt Nash about his involvement in the hijacking before Strannix offhandedly sends two mercenaries to eliminate Ryback and Nash. Nash is killed, but Ryback escapes and kills the terrorists before planting a bomb in the microwave. He proceeds to cause havoc amongst the boarders and begins killing off the terrorists with the limited help of the stripper, Jordan, who was only hired as a cover for the festivities. Ryback also gets in contact with Admiral Bates (Andy Romano) at the Pentagon by using a satellite phone, whereupon the Navy then makes a plan to send a SEAL Team to retake the ship. Krill discovers that Ryback is really a Chief Petty Officer and former Navy SEAL with extensive special-weapons and counter-terrorism training. He was relegated to his current posting for striking his superior officer who had been responsible for his men being killed in a botched commando mission during the United States invasion of Panama. As a result, he had lost his security clearance and was only able to serve as a yeoman or a cook (NOTE: A bit of artistic license by the filmmakers, since all personnel in the yeomen rating in the US Navy are required to maintain some level of security clearance, although usually not at a level normally associated with SEAL personnel). To keep the missile-theft plan in place, Krill decides to activate the fire supression system in the forecastle, leaving the crew members to drown and the terrorists to set up an ambush when Ryback arrives by himself to save them. However, Ryback locates a group of sailors in hiding and along with them engages a successful counter-strike, saving the crew and eliminating a considerable number of Strannix's forces. As Strannix's men regroup, Ryback shuts down the Missouri's weapon systems, leaving the ship vulnerable to an incoming Navy SEAL team.
As the battle for the ship continues, the submarine crew shoots down both the CH-46 helicopter carrying the Navy SEAL team and its AH-1 Cobra escort with shoulder-fired surface-to-air missiles. The Pentagon responds by ordering an air strike that will destroy the Missouri and all aboard. Strannix regains control of the ship's weapon systems, and the Tomahawks are loaded onto the North Korean submarine, departing with Krill on board. With the aid of Jordan and his fellow sailors, Ryback uses the battleship's guns, which were not yet decommissioned, to sink the submarine with Krill still inside.
Strannix, standing on the deck, suffers a major concussion from being in the proximity of the Missouri's guns as they are fired. He orders the remaining mercenaries out of the control room as he launches two nuclear-tipped Tomahawks towards Honolulu. One of the two missiles is destroyed by an F/A-18 jet fighter, but the other continues on its course. As the sailors recapture the ship, killing the last group of Strannix's men, Ryback finds his way into the control room, where he is caught off-guard and captured by Strannix. Strannix and Ryback realize they know each other from their past real-world experiences, but Ryback is disgusted by Strannix's excuses for his behavior and angers the terrorist until he lets down his guard for a second. Ryback and Strannix then engage in a knife fight, and Ryback kills Strannix by ripping out his right eye, ramming a knife into the top of his skull, and finally smashing what was left of his head through a computer monitor. Ryback then takes the launch codes needed to destroy the remaining missile. The codes are dialed in and the Tomahawk missile is deactivated, blowing apart harmlessly only a minute before it would have destroyed Honolulu. The Pentagon celebrates wildly, then calls off the air assault on the Missouri.
At the end, the remaining crew members are freed from their below-deck prison as the ship sails towards San Francisco harbor. As Ryback is checked by a Navy doctor, he kisses Jordan Tate as the crew looks on and cheers. The film ends with a ceremony for Captain Adams being held on the decks of the Missouri, showing the Captain's casket with flag draped and Ryback saluting in his service dress blue uniform as a Chief Petty Officer, his SEAL insignia, Naval Parachutist insignia, and various ribbons indicating previous decorations for heroism, all prominently displayed.
Cast
- Steven Seagal as Chief Casey Ryback
- Tommy Lee Jones as Bill Strannix
- Gary Busey as Commander Krill
- Erika Eleniak as Jordan Tate
- Colm Meaney as Doumer
- Patrick O'Neal as Captain Adams
- Andy Romano as Admiral Bates
- Dale Dye as Captain Nick Garza
- Nick Mancuso as Tom Breaker
- Damian Chapa as Tackman
- Tom Wood as Private Nash
- Troy Evans as Granger
- Dennis Lipscomb as Trenton
- David McKnight as Flicker
- Dale Payne as Seaman #1
- Lee Hinton as Cue Ball
- Glenn Morshower as Ensign Taylor
- Leo Alexander as Lieutenant Smart
- John Rottger as Commander Green
- Raymond Cruz as Ramirez
- George H. W. Bush as Himself
- Dru Ann Carlson as Captain Spellman
Production and distribution
The USS Alabama museum ship stood in for most of the Missouri sequences, and the USS Drum portrayed the North Korean submarine.
Based on an original screenplay by J. F. Lawton, Under Siege was rated 'R' ('Restricted') by the MPAA. The UK release was edited for violence to get a more commercial 15 certificate. Ten seconds were removed from the film, chiefly from the workshop fight and a shot of Seagal ripping out a man's throat.
The film makes extensive use of the IntroVision process, a variation of front projection that allows realistic three-dimensional interaction of foreground characters with projected backgrounds without the heavy cost of traditional bluescreen effects. The technique was also used in the films Outland, Megaforce, Army of Darkness and Andrew Davis' The Fugitive.
Critical and box office reception
On its opening weekend, Under Siege made $15,760,003 from 2,042 theaters, with a $7,717 average.[3][4] From there, it went on to make $83,563,139. Worldwide, it made $156,563,139.
The movie was also a critical success, with many hailing Tommy Lee Jones and Gary Busey as the villains.[5][6][7] Rotten Tomatoes currently has a 74% fresh rating on the film.[8]
After watching this film, Harrison Ford was so impressed by Andrew Davis' directing work that he immediately signed on to play Dr. Richard Kimble in Davis' adaptation of The Fugitive.
Also, the film was nominated for two Academy Awards (Best Sound Effects Editing and for Best Sound).
References
- ^ "Seagal Has Blast With Unlikely Success of 'Siege'". Los Angeles Times. 1992-10-20. Retrieved 2010-09-10.
- ^ "The Talk of Hollywood; Director Who Blends Action With a Bit of Art". The New York Times. Retrieved 2010-12-14.
- ^ "Weekend Box Office A Bang-Up Opening for `Under Siege'". The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2010-12-01.
- ^ "Seagal Has Blast With Unlikely Success of 'Siege'". Los Angeles Times. 1992-10-20. Retrieved 2010-09-10.
- ^ "Under Siege". Chicago Sun Times. Retrieved 2010-09-10.
- ^ "Review/Film; Steven Seagal on a Ship in Hot Water". The New York TImes. Retrieved 2010-09-10. [dead link]
- ^ "'Under Siege' Delivers Laughs, Thrills". Los Angeles Times. 1992-10-09. Retrieved 2010-09-10.
- ^ "Under Siege". Chicago Sun Times. Retrieved 2010-09-05.