Released on October 9, 1992, Under Siege was both a critical and commercial success, receiving two Academy 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 actor Patrick O'Neal, before his death in 1994.
Plot
The battleship USS Missouri (BB-63) arrives at Pearl Harbor, where then-PresidentGeorge H. W. Bush announces that the ship will be decommissioned in California. Casey Ryback, a chief petty officer and a culinary specialist, is preparing meals to celebrate commanding 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 led by disillusioned former CIA operative William Strannix, who, aided by Krill, takes over the ship. Several officers are killed, including Captain Adams. The surviving crew are imprisoned in the forecastle, with some stragglers confined in unsecured areas. 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 slays 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 steal the ship's Tomahawks and load them onto a hijacked North Korean submarine as revenge for the CIA attempting to assassinate him.
Strannix contacts Admiral Bates at the Pentagon to make demands but learns Ryback has escaped. Krill discovers Ryback is a former Navy SEAL with extensive training in counterterrorism tactics; Captain Adams had taken Ryback aboard as his cook after Ryback was demoted for striking a superior officer who provided inadequate intel for a failed mission in Panama. 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. Krill activates the fire suppression system to flood the forecastle and force Ryback to rescue his mates while setting an ambush.
Ryback and Tate release 6 imprisoned sailors. They overcome the ambush and shut off the water, flooding the forecastle. Ryback shuts down Missouri'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 the Missouri. Strannix regains control of the ship's weapon systems and loads the Tomahawks onto the submarine. Aided by a gunner's mate, Ryback attacks the submarine using the battleship's 16-inch guns, killing Krill and everyone on board.
His plan foiled, Strannix launches two retaliatory nuclear-tipped Tomahawks towards Honolulu. As the sailors retake the ship, Ryback enters the control room and encounters Strannix. 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 the Missouri, with Tate amongst the crew. Ryback salutes the captain's casket in his formal dress uniform with full decorations.
Cast
USS Missouri
Steven Seagal as Chief Petty Officer (CPO) Casey Ryback, a former Navy SEAL who currently serves as the culinary specialist of Missouri.
Tommy Lee Jones as William Strannix, a renegade, embittered former CIA operative who leads the team of terrorists.
Gary Busey as Commander (CDR) Peter Krill, Missouri's sociopathic, corrupt executive officer who serves as an inside man and second in-command of Strannix.
Erika Eleniak as Jordan Tate, a Playboy Playmate model "Miss July '89" (the same as Eleniak was in real life) who came on board to entertain the ship's personnel and becomes Ryback's sidekick.
The film was based on an original spec script by J. F. Lawton called Dreadnought 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 bimbo jumping 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 the Pearl Harbor Memorial into the film, because all these incredible ships would be there—a spectacular sight."[8]
Seagal originally wanted to direct the film himself.
Director Andrew Davis had previously made Above 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 me The Fugitive so it was worth it."[9]
In a 2018 interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Pamela Anderson claimed that she was a contender for the role of Jordan Tate, but was dropped after refusing to sleep with Seagal.[10] Gary Busey claimed in later interviews that Seagal sexually harassed Erika Eleniak, who co-starred with Anderson on Baywatch, on set. Eleniak has stated that Seagal never acted inappropriately with her during casting or filming.[10]
Filming
USS Alabama (serving as a museum in Mobile) stood in for many of the Missouri sequences, and USS Drum (museum ship) portrayed the North Korean submarine.[11] The film also featured footage of the real Missouri sailing in Pearl Harbor, the Pacific Ocean, and San 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 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.[13] The technique was also used in the films Outland, 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 title Dreadnought did not test well with audiences, the marketing department wanted to give the film a three word title like other Seagal films and came up with the title Last to Surrender. Lawton and Seagal both hated the title, and Seagal fought to have it changed, and the film ended up with the title Under Siege.[14]
Robert Booth Nichols, a self-described former espionage artist, alleged mob associate, and con artist, was employed by Seagal as a technical advisor.[15][16] He also appears in the film in a small speaking role.[17][18]
Casey Ryback's signature knives were designed for the film by Gil Hibben.
Reception
Box office
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.
Critical response
Audiences polled by CinemaScore 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 80% 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 with Executive Decision and Machete, being called "Die Hard on a battleship" by film critics. On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 58 out of 100 based on 17 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".
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.
Reboot
In November 2021, a reboot of the original was in development for HBO Max, with Timo Tjahjanto and Umair Aleem attached to direct and write the film.[29]
^Beck, M., & Smith, S. J. (Dec 10, 1991). "A bit kinder, gentler steven seagal coming". Austin American-Statesman. ProQuest256190680.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
