| Under Siege | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Andrew Davis[1] |
| Written by | J. F. Lawton |
| Produced by | |
| Starring |
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| Cinematography | Frank Tidy |
| Edited by |
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| Music by | Gary Chang |
Production companies |
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| Distributed by | Warner Bros. |
Release date |
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Running time | 103 minutes |
| Country |
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| Language | English |
| Budget | $30 million[2] |
| Box office | $156.6 million |
Under Siege is a 1992action thriller film directed byAndrew Davis and written byJ. F. Lawton. It starsSteven Seagal (who also produced the film),Tommy Lee Jones,Gary Busey, andErika Eleniak. Seagal playsCasey Ryback, a formerNavy SEAL, who must fend off a group of mercenaries after they commandeer the U.S. Navy battleshipMissouri.[3]
Released on October 9, 1992,Under Siege was both a critical and commercial success, receiving twoAcademy Award nominations for sound production and grossing over $156.6 million at the global box office.[4] It is often considered Steven Seagal's best film to date.[5] It was followed in 1995 by a sequel,Under Siege 2: Dark Territory, which was not as well received.
Under Siege was the final film of actorPatrick O'Neal, before his death in 1994.
The battleshipUSS Missouri (BB-63) arrives atPearl Harbor, where PresidentGeorge H. W. Bush announces that the ship will be decommissioned in California.Casey Ryback, achief petty officer and a culinary specialist, is preparing meals to celebratecommanding officerCaptain Adams' birthday, against the orders of executive officerCommander Krill, who has arranged for food and entertainment to be brought by helicopter. Krill provokes a tussle with Ryback. Unable to imprison Ryback in the brig without the captain's approval, Krill detains him in the walk-in fridge, placing Marine Private Nash on guard. The helicopter arrives with a musical band and caterers, accompanied by Playboy Playmate Jordan Tate.
The band and caterers are mercenaries employed by disillusioned formerCIA operative William Strannix, who takes over the ship, killing several officers. The takeover is aided by Krill, who murders Captain Adams. The surviving crew are imprisoned in theforecastle. Ryback hears the gunshots and persuades Nash to call the bridge. Strannix sends two mercenaries to eliminate Ryback and Nash. Nash is killed, but Ryback kills both mercenaries. He encounters Tate and reluctantly allows her to tag along.
Strannix and his mercenaries seize the ship's weapon systems, shooting down a jet sent to investigate; they plan to cover their escape with missiles to obliterate tracking systems in Pearl Harbor. Strannix's mission is to hijack the ship'sTomahawks and load them onto a hijacked North Korean submarine. The Tomahawks would then be sold on theblack market to an anti-American nation, likely instigating theThird World War as part of a master plan; Strannix's revenge for an attempted CIA assassination and to make Krill so rich he could "buy the presidency".
Strannix contacts Admiral Bates at the Pentagon to make demands but learns Ryback has escaped. Krill discovers Ryback is a formerNavy SEAL with extensive training in counterterrorism tactics; Captain Adams had taken Ryback aboard as his cook after Ryback was demoted because he attacked a superior officer who provided inadequate intel for a failedmission in Panama. Strannix appears to recognize Ryback's name. Ryback contacts Bates, who says a Navy SEAL team is underway to retake the ship. Ryback, helped by Tate, moves throughout the ship, eliminating mercenaries one by one. Krill activates the fire suppression system to murder the prisoners with water and to draw out Ryback through ambush, who will likely attempt rescue.
Ryback and Tate release five imprisoned sailors, along with visiting WW2 veterangunner's mate Calaway. They overcome the ambush and shut off the water flooding the forecastle. Ryback shuts downMissouri's weapon systems to allow incoming Navy SEALs to land, but the submarine crew shoots down the helicopter carrying the team. The Pentagon orders an air strike that will sink theMissouri. Strannix regains control of the ship's weapon systems and loads the Tomahawks onto the submarine. Aided by Calaway, Ryback attacks the submarine using the battleship's16-inch guns, killing the pirates and Krill.
His main plan foiled, Strannix launches two retaliatory nuclear-tipped Tomahawks towardsHonolulu. As the sailors retake the ship, Ryback enters the control room and encounters Strannix, who it is revealed previously served over Ryback as the latter recognizes him. Ryback kills Strannix in a knife fight and then uses the launch code disk to destroy the Tomahawk missiles. A jet obliterates one missile, and the other is deactivated; the Navy calls off its airstrike.
The remaining crew are released as the ship sails to San Francisco harbor. A funeral ceremony for Captain Adams is held aboard theMissouri, with Tate amongst the crew. Ryback salutes the captain's casket in his formal dress uniform with full decorations.
The film was based on an originalspec script byJ. F. Lawton calledDreadnought which sold for $1 million.[6] Warners wanted Seagal to star in the film but he turned it down at first. Seagal later said he had problems with the role of a character "who is at first a bimbojumping out of a cake and gets paired up with me." But he said that in revisions of the script, the role became a character "who gradually reveals her intelligence."[7]
Lawton said "We are trying to make him [Seagal] more mainstream...getting him out of the pure action genre and into an acting role." The writer added "I'm trying to bring the budget within a reasonable range. The original script was almost irresponsible, with things like battleships getting blown up...the way it was,Dreadnought would have cost $100 million-plus to make. Now we're looking at the $30 million range... It was Steven's idea to fit thePearl Harbor Memorial into the film, because all these incredible ships would be there—a spectacular sight."[8]
Director Andrew Davis had previously madeAbove the Law with Steven Seagal. Davis later said "Terry Semel wanted us to get back together again saying that Seagal was only in the movie 41 minutes. Tommy Lee is in the movie longer than Steven. It was fine, it was fine. It worked out well. We had a nice time down in Mobile and had a lot of fun making the movie, and that was the movie that got meThe Fugitive so it was worth it."[9]
In a 2018 interview withThe Hollywood Reporter,Pamela Anderson claimed that she was a contender for the role of Jordan Tate, but was dropped after refusing tosleep with Seagal.[10] Busey claimed in later interviews that Seagal sexually harassed Eleniak on set, but she has denied that Seagal ever acted inappropriately with her during casting or filming.[10]
USS Alabama (serving as a museum inMobile) stood in for many of theMissouri sequences, andUSS Drum (museum ship) portrayed the North Korean submarine.[11] The film also featured footage of the realMissouri sailing inPearl Harbor, thePacific Ocean, andSan Francisco Bay.[12] The war room sequences were filmed inside of a set constructed in a local high school gymnasium.
The film makes extensive use of theIntrovision process, a variation offront projection that allows realistic three-dimensional interaction of foreground characters with projected backgrounds without the heavy cost of traditionalbluescreen effects.[13] The technique was also used in the filmsOutland,Megaforce,Army of Darkness and Andrew Davis' later film,The Fugitive.[13]
"Most people are surprised that the film is as sophisticated as it is," Davis said. "It appeals to people who have a point of view about nuclear weapons and the story thrusts you into an incredible situation that is not far-fetched."[7] When the original titleDreadnought did not test well with audiences, the marketing department wanted to give the film a three-word title like other Seagal films. They came up withLast to Surrender, which Lawton and Seagal hated. Seagal fought to have it changed, and the film ended up being calledUnder Siege.[14]
Robert Booth Nichols, a self-described former espionage artist, alleged mob associate, andcon artist, was employed by Seagal as a technical advisor.[15][16] He also appears in the film in a small speaking role.[17][18]
On its opening weekend,Under Siege made $15,760,003 from 2,042 theaters, with a $7,717 average.[19][20] From there, it went on to make $83,563,139. Worldwide, it made $156,563,139.[4] At the time, it was the most successful film that had not been screened for any critics prior to its release.
Audiences polled byCinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A−" on an A+ to F scale.[21] Reviewers praised Tommy Lee Jones and Gary Busey's performances as the film's villains.[22][23][24]Rotten Tomatoes gives the film a score of 83% based on reviews from 30 critics. The site's consensus states: "A well-directed action thriller that makes the most of its confined setting,Under Siege marks a high point for early '90s action—and its star's spotty filmography."[25] This is one of the few Steven Seagal films to receive a fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes, along withExecutive Decision andMachete, being called "Die Hard on a battleship" by film critics. OnMetacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 58 out of 100 based on 17 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".
It was also the only Seagal movie to receive anAcademy Award nomination, earning two nominations forBest Sound Effects Editing (John Leveque andBruce Stambler) and forBest Sound (Donald O. Mitchell,Frank A. Montaño,Rick Hart andScott D. Smith).[26] It did not win in either category, losing toBram Stoker's Dracula andThe Last of the Mohicans.[27]Harrison Ford saw a rough cut of the film and approved director Andrew Davis forThe Fugitive (1993).[28]
A sequel,Under Siege 2: Dark Territory, was released on July 14, 1995, with Seagal, Romano, Mancuso and Dye reprising their roles. The film failed to replicate the success of its predecessor.
In November 2021, a reboot of the original was in development forHBO Max, withTimo Tjahjanto and Umair Aleem attached to direct and write the film.[29]
Under Siege is possibly Steven Seagal's most famous action movie, and arguably his best.
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