Under Siege
1992
Directed by Andrew Davis
Quick Synopsis… Director Andrew Davis’s Oscar-nominated, action-packed thriller takes place on the soon-to-be-decommissioned USS Missouri. Disgruntled ex-CIA operative Strannix (Tommy Lee Jones), his assistant Krill (Gary Busey) and their group of terrorists seize the battleship with nuclear blackmail in mind. They’ve planned for every contingency but ignore the ship’s cook, former Navy SEAL Casey Ryback (Steven Seagal) — an error that could be fatal.
- The USS Missouri is being decommissioned…
- But before that can happen, we need to throw a surprise birthday party for the captain.
- They’re bringing in a band, a special dinner, and a Playboy playmate to jump out of a giant birthday cake.
- Except, it turns out that the band and the caterers are all terrorists working for the band’s front man, William Strannix (Tommy Lee Jones).
- What the terrorists didn’t count on? The ship’s cook, Chief Petty Officer Casey Ryback (Steven Seagal) who is secretly an ex-Navy SEAL.
- And they thought he was just on board because the captain liked his cooking.
- This movie could very easily be described as Die Hard on a boat.
- Because that’s what it boils down to… One guy against an army of terrorists. And the one guy wins.
- Andrew Davis, the director, went on to direct The Fugitive the very next year. And he used a lot of the same actors.
- If you watch both movies, you’ll see a lot of familiar faces, not just Tommy Lee Jones.
- And if I’m remembering correctly, this might have been the earliest movie I remember watching that contained nudity.
- I say that because the scene with the girl jumping out of the cake in the empty mess hall was seared into my pubescent brain for years.
- Not something I’m proud to admit, but hey, those are teenage hormones for you.
As action movies go, this one’s not bad. There was a sequel, but we probably shouldn’t talk about that. As far as I’m concerned, this is the best movie in Steven Seagal’s filmography. Have you seen Under Siege? What did you think of it?
Come back tomorrow as we barrel toward the end of the A to Z Challenge with the letter V and a movie that is very hard to find. It’s a fantastic suspense/thriller that really does not receive the recognition it deserves. It stars Kiefer Sutherland, Jeff Bridges, and features Sandra Bullock in one of her earliest roles.

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So I actually used to love this movie! My brother and I would watch it all the time!!
Also, I shall not be excited over tomorrow because I hate Keifer Sutherland. BUT today I shall be excited over the movie lol
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Explain this Keifer Sutherland hatred. You know he’s one of your countrymen?
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So is William Shatner and I’d rather jab a rusty nail into my eyes instead of watching/listening to him.
There is no explanation. Just hate his acting lol
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But… Jack Bauer…
Sad face…
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Is this our first fight, Aaron? Lol
I’m sorry, all the sad faces in the world will not make me change my mind haha. (Not really even sorry. I’m so unCanadian today)
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I’ll get over it…
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Haha I’m glad
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Ah, yes, I remember seeing nudity in films when I was younger.
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