UNDER SIEGE (4K): The Ego Has Landed

UNDER SIEGE Limited Edition (4K UHD)

1992 / 103 min

Arrow Video

Review by Stinky the Destroyer😼

Submitted for your approval (or disapproval), one Steven F. Seagal, action star extraordinaire whose three decade career consists of only two movies that are any good. One of them is Executive Decision, which has keen sense to kill off his character in the first act.  

The other is Under Siege, one of the better Die Hard knock offs and Seagal’s biggest hit. But it isn’t necessarily because of him. Surround yourself with enough talent on both sides of the camera and you, too, can be an action star! In this case, the talent comes courtesy of director Andrew Davis, who also has the distinction of making the only Chuck Norris movie that was ever worth seeing (Code of Silence). For a brief time back in the day, Davis had a knack for putting together thrilling (and mostly plausible) action sequences and making the most of strong casts. 

Speaking of which…Seagal does some of his best squinting here, but scenery-chewing co-stars Tommy Lee Jones & Gary Busey steal the movie right from under his expanding midriff and never give it back (though they do let Erika Eleniak borrow it for a bout of gratuitous grinding). Of course, stealing a movie from Seagal is about as challenging as robbing a kid's lemonade stand. It’s pretty safe to say Dana Carvey could've been given the lead role and the movie would still work.

Under Siege is about a group of mercenaries, led by Jones, who seize control of a naval destroyer and threaten to launch its nuclear arsenal if their demands aren’t met. All that stands in their way is Casey Ryback (Seagal), the ship’s cook, who demonstrates his culinary abilities by stirring stuff. But Casey isn’t all that he seems. He’s an ex-Navy Seal and an expert in the art of killing. It ain’t long before he’s snapping necks, ripping out throats and making explosives out of stuff he finds on his spice rack (no wonder the soup-of-the-day always tastes suspiciously like nitro). Assisting Ryback is Jordan Tate (Erika Eleniak), a former Playboy playmate who was originally hired to entertain the troops. 

The fight for top billing.

While the movie’s fast-paced and loaded with violent action, Jones and Busey have all the best scenes, and when was the last time you could say Gary Busey was one of the best parts of any movie? Though Seagal is top-billed, the only thing he really does better than the rest of the cast is kill people. When he tries to do anything else - like act - the results are often chuckleworthy. At the same time, we get the impression that Seagal himself believes he’s the coolest guy in the room and it was probably his idea for Ryback to wear black while his uniformed shipmates mancrush on him. You can practically smell his inflated ego wafting from the screen. Now that I think about it, maybe Seagal is part of the reason Under Siege remains so entertaining.

The film has aged pretty well, too, which is more than we can say about its star. Its success turned out to be a double-edge sword, convincing Seagal he could do anything, like direct his next film, On Deadly Ground, a sanctimonious soapbox for him to save the environment by dealing death blows. Even worse, he subjected us to his singing in Fire Down Below, yet another rip-your-face-off-to-save-the-environment debacle. After seeing that one, I wanted to run out and strangle the first bald eagle I saw. 

Still, he has Under Siege, a fine credit on any resume. And admittedly, watching Seagal kill people can be pretty enjoyable when he's in capable hands. 30+ years later, it remains his magnum opus, which has been given a great 4K restoration by Arrow Video. It boasts a significant video upgrade from the previous Blu-ray release and features two audio options, a new Dolby Atmos mix and the original 2.0 audio track. Best of all, this disc comes with a great batch of brand new bonus features, all of which are entertaining and sometimes quite revealing, though Steve’s nowhere to be found.  

EXTRA KIBBLES

NOTE: Free Kittens Movie Guide was provided with a promo disc for review purposes. Physical supplemental material included with the final product (booklets, artwork, inserts, etc) were not available for review.

INTERVIEWS - I’m on a Boat (with a Bomb) is an interview with director Andrew Davis, who finds eloquent ways to confirm Seagal’s reputation was a dick; One of the Guys is an interview with actor Erika Eleniak; A Tight Ship is an interview with actor Damian Chapa; The Introvison Files is the an interview FX artist William Mesa (BTW, Introvision is a special effects process).

AUDIO COMMENTARY - By director Andrew Davis and screenwriter J.F. Lawton.

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