Review of Under Siege 2: Dark Territory (1995) by Sébastien L — 02 Nov 2009

It was pretty much a given that Under Siege 2 would pale in comparison to the quality original and yes, it does, but it's hardly a disaster and when all's said and done it's a competent if uninspired slice of mid-90's action. Steven Seagal returns as hot shit ex-Navy SEAL Casey Ryback, joining his niece (a young Katherine Heigl) on a train journey from Denver to LA following her fathers (his brothers) death. Unfortunately a terrorist group led by Travis Dane (an entertaining, hammy Eric Bogosian) have chosen that train as a mobile base containing plenty of handy hostages from which to launch his master plan (mwahaha!!!) to highjack a top secret US satellite weapon and make a lot of money. Naturally it's up to the perma-scowled one (teaming up with comic relief Morris Chestnut) to stealth his way around the train and take the bad guys down. As you can tell, the formula is practically identical to the original movie's (which itself was a Die Hard bandwagon-jumper) and is hardly much different to other action movies of the time such as Air Force One and Executive Decision so there's not much originality on display, but they do make the most out of the situation with action in, around and on top of the train and we get to see plenty of Seagal's sweet aikido moves not to mention his electronics and ice cream-bomb making skills (!). Humour is much more of a factor this time around and while they went a little overboard with Morris Chestnut there are some genuinely hilarious one-liners from Seagal - "No-one beats me in the kitchen" he quips when he takes one guy down in the dining car. Biggest laugh however comes as the film begins, the opening credits playing over a rocket launch and grand space vista - an intro that's practically screaming "SEAGAL IN SPACE" at you! Now there's a thought... Seagal vs. the Martian Bloodbeasts! But I digress...

You can't deny that the film has a classic 90's action movie cast with Seagal, Heigl, Chestnut and Bogosian being joined by Under Siege veterans Andy Romano (Admiral Bates), Dale Dye (uh, the other Navy guy) and Nick Mancuso as shady, chain-smoking CIA sleazebag Tom Breaker. The terrorist team is made up of the who's who of Hollywood goons of the time - not people you'd know the name of but people you'd recognise from a million bit-parts - Everett McGill, Peter Greene (best known as Zed from Pulp Fiction) and Henry Kingi (who's played a thug in practically every action movie ever made) to name but a few. Other familiar faces include Kurtwood Smith, Royce D. Applegate, David Gianopoulos and the lovely Brenda Bakke.

Since this is a mid-90's Steven Seagal action flick with a plot involving a super duper Star Wars weapon, naturally things get a little out of hand at times, which is the main reason why the film wasn't as well received as the down-to-earth original. Things get particularly silly towards the end with over-the-top explosions, Travis Dane's sudden ability to teleport and some rather appalling special effects, not to mention the wavering continuity of the space cannon itself which can suddenly shoot down a single stealth bomber without damaging anything nearby having previously obliterated an entire corner of China!

In conclusion there are plenty of issues to be had with Under Siege 2 but it's still a fun no-brainer and is a strong contender for Seagal's second-best flick.