Otages en péril

Saw this on tv last night, and it just about held my interest. Berenger and Weller are wasted though and seemed to be going through the motions, but Daryl Hannah's role was the most intriguing and she had some decent dialogue.

As siege films go it's not one of the best, too many questions and not enough answers as usual (why do so many so-called professional scriptwriters have a problem resolving questions that an amateur like me could of spotted?), but if you come across it on a dull night, there's plenty of action that should keep you awake.

6/10

...so, after bombing, destroying and killing thousands of innocent people in Serbia, it seems that Americans decided to continue their anti-Serbian propaganda with films like this one. I won't discuss any further, but I'm afraid that in the next few years there will be a new barrage of 'patriot' films similar to those after the war in Vietnam (only that this time they will concern the people of Serbia), beginning with this one.

Avoid it at all costs.

A very lame plot based on political thinking of the late 90s, that paints serbs as the bad guys...why they picked romainia for the "location of the embassy nuke" is beyond me since there was at one point an American embassy in yugoslaia and should have had a nuke as well...no matter. every aspect of the movie made it a poorly made b movie.

i have to mention, when reading some reviews, i was more appalled by some of those than i was by this movie. a great example is the review "Beware 'low cost production' countries" written by "davidshort10"...i his review he says "..(by the way, Romania was not part of the Warsaw Pact..", but of course anyone who knows anything about the warsaw pact knows that romania was a proud member of that pact. another statement (made in 2006), "..and oh by the way Croatia is not a UN member country)", although crotia has been a member of the UN since 1992.

you can watch the movie for free online, so you have nothing to lose but time.

"Diplomatic Siege" tells of those involved in the siege of the American embassy in Bucharest for the purpose of compelling the UN to release a Serbian officer being held for war crimes. The film is an ambitious project which self-destructs in the process of trying to do too much. An utter failure not recommended for anyone.

DIPLOMATIC SIEGE is a low rent thriller that rounds up a half-decent cast and throws them into a clichéd and predictable storyline involving some evil Serbian terrorists who take over the US embassy in Romania and proceed to issue various demands else the hostages will be executed. Of course, it's up the usual renegade heroes who are trapped on the inside to find a way to defeat their enemy...

Despite this being a B-movie in every respect, it's actually quite enjoyable with strong, clear choreography and crisp direction from Gustavo Graef Marino. Okay, the script was never going to win any awards for originality, but there's a brisk pace that doesn't let up and some fun moments for the known actors. There are some well-mounted shoot-outs with machine guns and the like but our heroes spend the movie evading the enemy rather than engaging, so DIE HARD it ain't.

Headlining the cast is Peter Weller (ROBOCOP), putting in a typically assured performance, and cast opposite him is Daryl Hannah, shortly before Tarantino cast her in KILL BILL. The third known face is Tom Berenger, sleepwalking through a stereotypically tough military role, although cult fans may spot an aged Brion James lower down as a stuffy US general. DIPLOMATIC SIEGE is only average at best but as B-movies go it isn't too bad at all.