173 recensioni
Steven Seagal was so damn Awesome back in his glory days of the 90's!!! I grew up watching him beat the crap out of street scum & terrorists & always come back to his Classic flicks.
No matter what is said about Steven Seagal these days he was a hero to me growing up & i still love his old films & genuinely enjoy most of his now low-budget cheap B-flicks as i still get to see Seagal taking out the trash in today's world, he's just gotten older & more rugged & out of shape as he's only Human!!! Seagal is an Action Legend as much as Stallone, Schwarzenegger or Van Damme are because each had their Glory days of the Box office & they're all old now.
My favourite Seagal film is his Action Masterpiece Out For Justice (1991) it's an incredible brutal action Thriller & my 2nd fave is his excellent urban-Voodoo Gang Action Thriller Marked For Death (1990), both superb films from the Awesome 90's that i constantly watched on video. I loved Seagal during his 90's Peak & also liked his serial killer Thriller The Glimmer Man (1996) & Hard to Kill (1990) & of course his Under Siege films which brings me to this excellent underrated Sequel, Under Siege 2: Dark Territory!!!
Part 2 brings back Casey Ryback (Seagal) from the Classic first film & sticks him on a train full of Deadly Terrorists who have stolen dangerous technology that can zoom in & hit a target from space, pretty cool & typical 90's Action Thriller stuff. Seagal is his usual Cool & Calm self until he needs to be deadly & is pretty much like he is in all his films except Out For Justice, anyway he brings all the kick-Ass stuff we wanna see & the film feels like "Die Hard" on a train & that's fine it's all good. I actually have always preferred this underrated Sequel over the Classic first film but that's my opinion. Another great part about this Flick is the Awesome know-the-face selection of Movie Badguys as the terrorists, we have the always great Peter Greene (Zed) from Pulp Fiction & Judgment Night, we have the intense Jonathan Banks from 48 Hrs & Beverley Hills Cop & FreeJack & we have the rugged & icey-Cold scary Everett McGill from Wes Craven's The People Under The Stairs & Silver Bullet, a great cast of intense & great character actors as Villains!!!
Here Seagal must defeat the Terrorists & save his young Niece (A young Katherine Heigl) & kicks plenty of Ass & has a fantastic fight scene with the big main badguy Marcus Penn (McGill) it's a bloody & brutal fight. All in all a Slick looking & totally 90's Cool Action Thriller
My favourite Seagal film is his Action Masterpiece Out For Justice (1991) it's an incredible brutal action Thriller & my 2nd fave is his excellent urban-Voodoo Gang Action Thriller Marked For Death (1990), both superb films from the Awesome 90's that i constantly watched on video. I loved Seagal during his 90's Peak & also liked his serial killer Thriller The Glimmer Man (1996) & Hard to Kill (1990) & of course his Under Siege films which brings me to this excellent underrated Sequel, Under Siege 2: Dark Territory!!!
Part 2 brings back Casey Ryback (Seagal) from the Classic first film & sticks him on a train full of Deadly Terrorists who have stolen dangerous technology that can zoom in & hit a target from space, pretty cool & typical 90's Action Thriller stuff. Seagal is his usual Cool & Calm self until he needs to be deadly & is pretty much like he is in all his films except Out For Justice, anyway he brings all the kick-Ass stuff we wanna see & the film feels like "Die Hard" on a train & that's fine it's all good. I actually have always preferred this underrated Sequel over the Classic first film but that's my opinion. Another great part about this Flick is the Awesome know-the-face selection of Movie Badguys as the terrorists, we have the always great Peter Greene (Zed) from Pulp Fiction & Judgment Night, we have the intense Jonathan Banks from 48 Hrs & Beverley Hills Cop & FreeJack & we have the rugged & icey-Cold scary Everett McGill from Wes Craven's The People Under The Stairs & Silver Bullet, a great cast of intense & great character actors as Villains!!!
Here Seagal must defeat the Terrorists & save his young Niece (A young Katherine Heigl) & kicks plenty of Ass & has a fantastic fight scene with the big main badguy Marcus Penn (McGill) it's a bloody & brutal fight. All in all a Slick looking & totally 90's Cool Action Thriller
- lukem-52760
- 28 mar 2020
- Permalink
Yes, the earthquake beam from space (heck, the whole story line and all of the villains too) are totally unbelievable. Frankly, if you can find a "believable" action movie, I have a beach house in Arizona you might want to buy. Yes, the production values were not the finest.
But -- if you like watching the hero exterminate the bad guys, few do it with the style of Seagal. Like Jet Li (yeah, I am old enough to remember Bruce Lee the original, and Chuck Norris), he is one of the few action heroes who is a real martial arts guy, and he moves so fast and fluidly it is hard for the eye to follow, but fascinating to watch. This is brainless entertainment, full of hilariously cheesy B-movie one-liners you can laugh at ("Assumption is the mother of all f-ups!"), often bad acting, a story line you could describe in one sentence, and zero character development.
There are worse ways to spend 90 minutes. Believability is for films that take themselves seriously. Seagal is more like stand-up comic straight man meets Aikido ace. At least he handles a handgun like someone who has actually fired one.
But -- if you like watching the hero exterminate the bad guys, few do it with the style of Seagal. Like Jet Li (yeah, I am old enough to remember Bruce Lee the original, and Chuck Norris), he is one of the few action heroes who is a real martial arts guy, and he moves so fast and fluidly it is hard for the eye to follow, but fascinating to watch. This is brainless entertainment, full of hilariously cheesy B-movie one-liners you can laugh at ("Assumption is the mother of all f-ups!"), often bad acting, a story line you could describe in one sentence, and zero character development.
There are worse ways to spend 90 minutes. Believability is for films that take themselves seriously. Seagal is more like stand-up comic straight man meets Aikido ace. At least he handles a handgun like someone who has actually fired one.
- Howlin Wolf
- 30 mag 2006
- Permalink
With the overwhelming success of the first Under Siege, it was inevitable that a sequel would be wheeled out before too long. Sure enough here it is, Under Siege 2 Dark Territory.
Quite why they bothered with the last subtitle I do not known as it is not readily obvious within the action as to its reference but I digress.
This time the terrorists and Segal are all clumped together on a train. Basically it's a similar scenario from the first film, complete with the same Admirals, CIA boss etc from the first instalment.
The weapon of choice this time is a daft satellite weapon controlled by a nutcase and his band of hired mercenaries. The two leading bad guys do however have some wonderful much quotable lines, one in particular I cannot repeat here in print, you will just have to make your own assumption ..
Once again Segal is on his own with just an annoying sidekick/comedy relief (this time a Porter) for company and again he single handed takes on the non-descript bad guys and duly despatches them one by one as per standard procedure in an effort to stop the weapon, save the train and also save his irritating but nice to look at niece.
Sadly the quality of the seemingly recycled script is poor and Segal is hopelessly out acted by the two lead bad guys (Eric Bogosian and Everett McGill) who in turn are out acted by the two former Alaskan Railroad GP7 type locomotives hauling the train!!
Also not helping in my appreciation of this film is the fact that the UK DVD release is badly chopped about and obvious badly done cuts abound throughout. Thankfully an excellent soundtrack from Basil Poledouris saves this film from being just average.
Quite why they bothered with the last subtitle I do not known as it is not readily obvious within the action as to its reference but I digress.
This time the terrorists and Segal are all clumped together on a train. Basically it's a similar scenario from the first film, complete with the same Admirals, CIA boss etc from the first instalment.
The weapon of choice this time is a daft satellite weapon controlled by a nutcase and his band of hired mercenaries. The two leading bad guys do however have some wonderful much quotable lines, one in particular I cannot repeat here in print, you will just have to make your own assumption ..
Once again Segal is on his own with just an annoying sidekick/comedy relief (this time a Porter) for company and again he single handed takes on the non-descript bad guys and duly despatches them one by one as per standard procedure in an effort to stop the weapon, save the train and also save his irritating but nice to look at niece.
Sadly the quality of the seemingly recycled script is poor and Segal is hopelessly out acted by the two lead bad guys (Eric Bogosian and Everett McGill) who in turn are out acted by the two former Alaskan Railroad GP7 type locomotives hauling the train!!
Also not helping in my appreciation of this film is the fact that the UK DVD release is badly chopped about and obvious badly done cuts abound throughout. Thankfully an excellent soundtrack from Basil Poledouris saves this film from being just average.
- jmupton2003
- 22 ago 2004
- Permalink
First a confession - In a dark little corner of my life which some people incidentally think is all of it, I've got time for the work of Steven Segal. You can scoff but some of the most outright disturbingly entertaining movies of the last ten years read like a roll call of his hits. Hard to Kill, Nico, Under Siege, its sequel of which more in a moment, Half Past Dead, Out for a Kill - the man is a cine-alchemist, turning poor, workman like material into solid gold. This is primarily for two reasons. 1)You must be some kind of crazy genius to forge a career with virtually no personality and 2)He is prepared to go further than most stars in the vanity project stakes, in fact next to Segal people like Bruce Willis, Arnold Schwarzenegger and John Travolta look positively reserved and self-conscious. Under Siege 2 has both of these factors at full strength and in some respects this makes 'Dark Territory' (the sub-title is no understatement) the quintessential Segal Experience. He's been everything from a cop to a University professor (no, seriously) but here the great man reprises his role as Casey Rybeck, an ex-Navy Seal, special ops whathaveyou who jacked it in to pursue a career as a navy chef. In the original Siege and I use the word original purely in the context of first film, Segal saved his ship from terrorists when they threatened to ruin his Japanese rice cakes. In the second version, sorry Installment, Segal is taking his niece, who's very good looking indeed on a Colorado rail journey when its taken over by mercenaries lead by an insane computer genius who plans to destroy Washington using a laser in space. Believe it or not this is almost a Ken Loach set-up in comparison to some of Segal's movies but if you were trying to make the most generic action movie imaginable you'd have a hard time beating this movie. In lesser hands we'd be as dead as one of Rybeck's Poterhouse steaks but Segal the alchemist comes to the rescue and delivers 90 minutes of solid ego-mania and it's a joy to watch. Segal followers will know that when the villains find out who he is and his mêlée of specialist combat tactics (Kick boxing, bomb making, weapons expertise, three Michelin stars) they usually start to panic, all except one head villain, usually no.2 to the main villain (see F.Lee Emery and Michael Caine in On Deadly Ground) who is ill-advisedly confident that he can take our hero in the final reel which of course he doesn't. These scenes show us and reassure Segal that he's one total badass, a man to feared and respected and in case you missed the point Segal's side kick (in this case doubling as black, street talking' comic relief) is there to write it on the blackboard for all the slow kids at the back. Siege has many of these moments in which both Segal's niece and sidekick say things like "I guess he's a hero" and in one terrific moment the aforementioned hired help is told by Segal "oh, you're a hero now?" only to be told "No, man you're the hero!". Willis might have cut in with a quip at this stage but the man with the tan doesn't do jokes or indeed anything except fight and deliver lines in his trademark monotone. Segal's so gloriously vain that he can't even allow himself to be dirtied up over the course of the movie. In Die Hard Willis got beaten, blooded up and shot but not so much as a strand of Segal's hair goes out of place the entire time, the dark jacket remaining in place throughout. This is despite such potential soiling incidents as explosions, armed combat, cliff face hand to hand fighting and leaping out of moving trucks. My favourite scene is the one where the lead heavy thumps Segal in the face during their climatic fight and although he's a bit blooded in that shot by the time he's got up there's barely a scratch on him. What chance does any terrorist stand against that? All that's missing from Dark Territory is a speech of the kind of quality witnessed in the dieing minutes of the aforementioned On Deadly Ground in which the then eco-friendly action hero delivered the monologue that every Greenpeace activist dreams about. So there you have it, if you want to see a one man force of nature at work rent this one out tonight but remember, this isn't even his best - for that you'll be wanting 'Out for a Kill' and only a idiot would refuse an invitation like that.
- David_Frames
- 14 giu 2005
- Permalink
- rmax304823
- 8 mar 2008
- Permalink
This time our hero from Under Siege faces off against terrorists who have hijacked a train and are planning on using a nuclear satellite to zap the Pentagon unless demands of money are met. Once again nobody beats our favorite U.S seal turned cook in the kitchen, or for that matter in the movie. Aside from a few exciting action sequences and the hilariously cheesy one liner "Nobody beats me in the kitchen!" Under Siege 2 ranks a huge disappointment. The main reason is that Seagal is too invincible and that the story is too asinine to even bother following. Also the bad guys this time, while having their moments, pale in comparison to the ones in # 1.
*1/2 out of 4(Poor)
*1/2 out of 4(Poor)
- fmarkland32
- 22 mag 2006
- Permalink
The first 'Under Siege' film was a classic. No, not in the 'Godfather' or 'Empire Strikes Back' kind of way, but in terms of simple nineties action films to eat popcorn to, it was a classic. And an unexpected one at that. Therefore, a sequel was trotted out in the hope that the second film would catch the audience's attention, too. It didn't. Not that it's that bad.
Steven Segal plays... well, much the same character he plays in all his films – the no-nonsense, bad-guy-slaughtering, tough-man who gets caught up in all sorts of dangerous situations. This time he just so happens to be on a passenger train heading through America when a load of terrorists hijack it, threatening New York with total destruction thanks to an on-board control to a top secret satellite-weapon.
The first film was set on a large military destroyer boat. Therefore, when Segal did his thing killing bad-guys, he had a bigger playing field (kind of literally!) to run around in. A boat is a damn sight better setting for an action film where the hero is constantly hiding and on the run from a small army of hired mercenaries. A train is not. He never really seems to hit his stride until the film is practically over.
Yes, he does his general hiding and stalking of baddies, but the whole affair leaves you wondering how he hasn't been caught by now. The second half does pick up the pace a bit – if you don't mind overlooking the various over-the-topness of it all and general plot holes that come with one man taking down an entire elite army battalion.
Plus there are less secondary characters for Segal to interact with. His niece is a captive, so she has little to do but kneel down and play the part of 'damsel in distress.' Segal's (train porter) sidekick is annoying and the baddies are kind of over-the-top in a pantomime kind of way.
Overall, 'Under Siege 2' isn't bad. It just isn't as good as the original and therefore not even nearly as good as all the other mad nineties action blockbusters. If you like action films and you come home late at night and see this is on TV, you may watch it all the way through. It's the kind of film that you can watch while doing other things.
Steven Segal plays... well, much the same character he plays in all his films – the no-nonsense, bad-guy-slaughtering, tough-man who gets caught up in all sorts of dangerous situations. This time he just so happens to be on a passenger train heading through America when a load of terrorists hijack it, threatening New York with total destruction thanks to an on-board control to a top secret satellite-weapon.
The first film was set on a large military destroyer boat. Therefore, when Segal did his thing killing bad-guys, he had a bigger playing field (kind of literally!) to run around in. A boat is a damn sight better setting for an action film where the hero is constantly hiding and on the run from a small army of hired mercenaries. A train is not. He never really seems to hit his stride until the film is practically over.
Yes, he does his general hiding and stalking of baddies, but the whole affair leaves you wondering how he hasn't been caught by now. The second half does pick up the pace a bit – if you don't mind overlooking the various over-the-topness of it all and general plot holes that come with one man taking down an entire elite army battalion.
Plus there are less secondary characters for Segal to interact with. His niece is a captive, so she has little to do but kneel down and play the part of 'damsel in distress.' Segal's (train porter) sidekick is annoying and the baddies are kind of over-the-top in a pantomime kind of way.
Overall, 'Under Siege 2' isn't bad. It just isn't as good as the original and therefore not even nearly as good as all the other mad nineties action blockbusters. If you like action films and you come home late at night and see this is on TV, you may watch it all the way through. It's the kind of film that you can watch while doing other things.
- bowmanblue
- 5 giu 2015
- Permalink
This was the first action movie I saw which made me sleep. It was completely boring to see Mr face-expressionless Seagal fighting from wagon to wagon and I didn't know where the front of the train is and when we can catch it. The final confrontation was nice and quite well-made but I found ridiculous when Seagal was running out of the falling train quite slowly, just like saying "oh, why should I run faster, it's in the screenplay that I will catch that tiny ladder in the last minute, so I have time". Oh my God. 2 of 10.
This film is one of Steven Seagal's best and has all the elements of a Bond film: a driven hero, a villain brilliantly played by Eric Bogosian, and a hard-hitting assassin played by Everett McGill. Beauty is respected as a formula that ensures success and the action sequences are precisely dosed by Geoff Murphi, who here offers his best film. What is most surprising is that despite having had many successful films Steven Seagal chose the path of destroying his career with questionable products that instead of entertaining had other objectives. It is a film that does not lose its validity and that is enjoyable. This same recipe was the one that ensured the success of Kingsman and other sagas. We must never forget history if we want to make money.
Geoff Murphy directed this second and so far final entry in the Steven Seagal "series", which began with Andrew Dawis' Under Siege in 1992. This time terrorists don't hijack ship but train full of passengers including the deadly cook Ryback (Seagal) and his niece Sarah. The terrorists are led by madman who was fired from the government in which he invented a military weapon that is used in space. He and his colleagues want now to avenge his firing and all the wrongs, and they demand huge amount of money in order to maintain the peace; the madman has all the equipment in the train to control his deadly invention above and he definitely is willing to use it if he doesn't get the money and co-operation from the helpless government. But he doesn't know Casey "the cook" Ryback is also on the train, and he is pretty p***ed of because his niece is in danger among all the other passengers.
This film is a routine actioner with the usual "charisma" of Steven Seagal and his fighting abilities. Murphy does his job with talent as a director and there are some great bits of photography, for example the scene where the train is reflected in the lake and there are also some interesting camera angles in the film. The film is also pretty exciting (if not always believable), so I really managed to watch this without any problem, and the fact is that I'm not any fan of Seagal's. Under Siege 2 is very violent and has plenty of gun fights and fist/kicking action and the film is incredibly roughly cut in UK to get the 18 rating. I watched the uncut version and it is raw and violent most of the time, if not as violent as Seagal's most brutal film, Out For Justice.
Under Siege 2: Dark Territory is nothing special, but still pretty exciting, greatly directed, photographed and staged action film. There are some stupid comic elements and "funny" and irritating one liners, mostly from the bag boy, so without these stupid and usual flaws, this film would be even more noteworthy little actioner. Now it is among many others and makes the same mistakes in this department as many others have made, too. I give this 5/10 and appreciate Geoff Murphy's direction.
This film is a routine actioner with the usual "charisma" of Steven Seagal and his fighting abilities. Murphy does his job with talent as a director and there are some great bits of photography, for example the scene where the train is reflected in the lake and there are also some interesting camera angles in the film. The film is also pretty exciting (if not always believable), so I really managed to watch this without any problem, and the fact is that I'm not any fan of Seagal's. Under Siege 2 is very violent and has plenty of gun fights and fist/kicking action and the film is incredibly roughly cut in UK to get the 18 rating. I watched the uncut version and it is raw and violent most of the time, if not as violent as Seagal's most brutal film, Out For Justice.
Under Siege 2: Dark Territory is nothing special, but still pretty exciting, greatly directed, photographed and staged action film. There are some stupid comic elements and "funny" and irritating one liners, mostly from the bag boy, so without these stupid and usual flaws, this film would be even more noteworthy little actioner. Now it is among many others and makes the same mistakes in this department as many others have made, too. I give this 5/10 and appreciate Geoff Murphy's direction.
Steven Seagal reprises his role as a one time SEAL team captain, a counter-terrorist expert who had to rely only on his personal skills in order to survive, and protect the hostages... He happens to be on the Grand Continental passenger train traveling from Denver to L.A... Seagal joins the only family he has, a 'cute kid' named Sarah (Katherine Heigl) after her parents died in a plane crash...
Seagal has an electrifying screen presence... Seeing him in action is similar to appreciating modern art...
The train is hijacked by a team of 'ugly men' with guns... Their chief, Travis Dane (Eric Bogosian), is a high-tech mastermind, who fakes his own death in order to gain control of a top-secret nuclear satellite... For this crazy technical genius, technology can be used for beauty or debasement, and 'until you plug it in, you just can't tell.'
Dane's henchman Penn (Everett McGill) is a soldier of fortune freak, whose relationship with his boss resurfaced during Desert Storm...
Morris Chestnut's focus is on humor and breath-taking sequences...
Geoff Murphy's film is incredibly entertaining, combining action, martial arts, and dark sense of humor...
Seagal has an electrifying screen presence... Seeing him in action is similar to appreciating modern art...
The train is hijacked by a team of 'ugly men' with guns... Their chief, Travis Dane (Eric Bogosian), is a high-tech mastermind, who fakes his own death in order to gain control of a top-secret nuclear satellite... For this crazy technical genius, technology can be used for beauty or debasement, and 'until you plug it in, you just can't tell.'
Dane's henchman Penn (Everett McGill) is a soldier of fortune freak, whose relationship with his boss resurfaced during Desert Storm...
Morris Chestnut's focus is on humor and breath-taking sequences...
Geoff Murphy's film is incredibly entertaining, combining action, martial arts, and dark sense of humor...
- Nazi_Fighter_David
- 25 nov 2003
- Permalink
Casey Ryback (Steven Seagal) having left the Navy to open a restaurant must now escort his niece (Katherine Heigl) home via train after her father's recent death. While on the train, a group of terrorists lead by crazed engineer Dane and bloodthirsty mercenary Penn (Eric Bogosian and Everett McGill respectively) hijack the train to use it as a base of operations to hijack a black ops satellite weapon capable of causing earthquakes with the intent being to destroy Washington D.C. once again only Ryback can save the day.
After the massive critical and commercial success of the first Under Siege, Warner Bros. was so eager to do a sequel that they allowed Seagal to direct and star in his vanity project On Deadly Ground....after, whatever that was came Under Siege 2: Dark Territory which throws out all pretense of taking place on planet Earth and goes into insanity normally reserved for 90s comics and video games that I can't help but love.
Like the last Under Siege, the true stars of the movie are the villains and location. Eric Bogosian and Everett McGill while somewhat similar in terms of motivation and character to Tommy Lee Jones and Gary Busey from the first movie (down to Bogosian having a bone to pick with the CIA after having been burned) they bring a different approach to similar characters to make them feel unique to the situation. Bogosian in particular is great as an unhinged tech genius playing the role in a manner similar to Elliott Gould or Dustin Hoffman circa 1970 that makes him feel more authentic than I think the movie was trying to do. Their plan is completely detached from reality unlike the first one which at least pretended to take place in some realistic fashion, and now the villains are involved in Lex Luthor level shenanigans involving what amounts to an "Earthquake Machine" but never directly called that and tap danced around with a lot of technical jargon. The insanity of the plot as well as Bogosian's and McGill's ability to maintain seriousness adds to the film's charm and makes it somewhat endearing.
The Train despite seemingly more limited in terms of possibilities to a battleship is used to great effect in Under Siege 2. The train is used for some great shootout sequences, closed quarters combat, and even chases across the train's rooftops (an unwritten rule for any thriller featuring a train as a centerpiece). Everything that can be done with a train, IS done with a train, right up to an absolutely insane climax that involves another train that must be seen to be believed. The supporting cast is a little more dialed back this time around as Seagal is given more screen time than in the first one, which leads to some minor detriment to some of the characters. Katherine Heigl is good playing Ryback's niece, but despite her being established as a fighter like her uncle it never comes into play in any meaningful fashion. Morris Chestnut however in an early performance is quite good playing a porter who reluctantly teams up with Ryback to help stop the terrorists from executing their plans. Chestnut shows a lot of charisma in his role and adds some nice touches of humor and humanity to what could have easily been a throwaway role.
While Under Siege 2 lacks novelty, tension, and punch of the first movie, it more than makes up for it with sheer amounts of excess and silliness that keeps you engaged throughout. From its villains over the top plan that feels like it belongs in a 90s arcade game to the sheer dedication to treating this situation seriously, it's an entertaining rush from start to finish that every action fan owes themselves to experience.
After the massive critical and commercial success of the first Under Siege, Warner Bros. was so eager to do a sequel that they allowed Seagal to direct and star in his vanity project On Deadly Ground....after, whatever that was came Under Siege 2: Dark Territory which throws out all pretense of taking place on planet Earth and goes into insanity normally reserved for 90s comics and video games that I can't help but love.
Like the last Under Siege, the true stars of the movie are the villains and location. Eric Bogosian and Everett McGill while somewhat similar in terms of motivation and character to Tommy Lee Jones and Gary Busey from the first movie (down to Bogosian having a bone to pick with the CIA after having been burned) they bring a different approach to similar characters to make them feel unique to the situation. Bogosian in particular is great as an unhinged tech genius playing the role in a manner similar to Elliott Gould or Dustin Hoffman circa 1970 that makes him feel more authentic than I think the movie was trying to do. Their plan is completely detached from reality unlike the first one which at least pretended to take place in some realistic fashion, and now the villains are involved in Lex Luthor level shenanigans involving what amounts to an "Earthquake Machine" but never directly called that and tap danced around with a lot of technical jargon. The insanity of the plot as well as Bogosian's and McGill's ability to maintain seriousness adds to the film's charm and makes it somewhat endearing.
The Train despite seemingly more limited in terms of possibilities to a battleship is used to great effect in Under Siege 2. The train is used for some great shootout sequences, closed quarters combat, and even chases across the train's rooftops (an unwritten rule for any thriller featuring a train as a centerpiece). Everything that can be done with a train, IS done with a train, right up to an absolutely insane climax that involves another train that must be seen to be believed. The supporting cast is a little more dialed back this time around as Seagal is given more screen time than in the first one, which leads to some minor detriment to some of the characters. Katherine Heigl is good playing Ryback's niece, but despite her being established as a fighter like her uncle it never comes into play in any meaningful fashion. Morris Chestnut however in an early performance is quite good playing a porter who reluctantly teams up with Ryback to help stop the terrorists from executing their plans. Chestnut shows a lot of charisma in his role and adds some nice touches of humor and humanity to what could have easily been a throwaway role.
While Under Siege 2 lacks novelty, tension, and punch of the first movie, it more than makes up for it with sheer amounts of excess and silliness that keeps you engaged throughout. From its villains over the top plan that feels like it belongs in a 90s arcade game to the sheer dedication to treating this situation seriously, it's an entertaining rush from start to finish that every action fan owes themselves to experience.
- IonicBreezeMachine
- 1 gen 2021
- Permalink
Surprisingly, 'Under Siege 2: Dark Territory (1995)' is better than the first film. Seagal isn't any better, but the flick itself seems to have a better understanding of what it is. As such, the thing is a lot more fun. It's basically the same thing as its predecessor: our heroic chef carves his way through a series of terrorists aboard a moving vehicle. There are several enjoyable set-pieces, side-characters and acting choices, making for an intermittently entertaining experience meant to be forgotten as soon as its credits roll. That may sound like faint praise - and it is - but the picture really isn't bad. Although it feels derivative, it works well enough for what it is. It's not the best thing in the world (in fact, it's far from it), but it isn't the worst either. 5/10
- Pjtaylor-96-138044
- 28 lug 2020
- Permalink
This was pretty good actually, despite having some production problems(word has it that they were thinking of bringing Gary Busey's character back from Under Seige I-yeah, right-off the exploding Sub? Not likely...)But anyways, this worked well for me. I enjoyed Seagal, showed a bit of humour here in places, thought the train gave it a decent closed in setting, liked both Kurtwood Smith and Everett McGill doing what they do best. (Smith has played the worried Pentagon staffer before too, about the same way...) My impression of Bogosian was that he was a bit too wired at times in his portrayal but it worked just the same. Overall an enjoyable if not great action film, the sort Seagal should have made more of.
**1/2 outta ****, nothing great, but alright.
**1/2 outta ****, nothing great, but alright.
i love this film. its great fun from the off and stands up to its average predecessor in my honest opinion. alright, the effects aren't exactly top notch, and the cliches and obvious acts and outcomes are predictable, but this is meant to be entertainment, its meant to make us gasp, get us hooked and give us some fun to concentrate on for two hours. Steven isn't exactly the worlds best actor but he puts in a decent effort here and the end result is a thoroughly enjoyable, if not epic or memorable, fable about a train thats been hijacked by ex NASA employees with control of a satelite with a powerful laser, on which Casey Riback - Seagal - happens to be traveling on to some funeral, with his niece who isn't a happy bunny. enjoy!
Under siege 2 " is a totally over the top, totally unbelievable yet highly entertaining sequel to Seagal's best movie. Objectively if you compare it to the original it's a disappointment . The story is pretty much a copy of the first movie with small changes. It's also unrealistic and dumb in places. Despite it's faults it's still an entertaining movie.
What we have here is basically "Die hard on train". The train itself is a good location. There is lot of pretty scenery and since the train is in constant motion the movie is also fast paced. I had problems with Geoff Murphy's direction in "Young guns 2" . Here he directs "US 2" with formidable energy. The movie is edited very quickly, almost like a music video. Speaking of music Basil Poledouris score is far superior than Gary Chang's from first movie. It's one of best soundtracks for action movie ever made. The special effects are adorably cheesy and add to the overall campy entertainment value. The script has some quotable one-liners : "Nobody beats me in the kitchen" , "Chance favors the prepared mind" , "Guess I'm not trained for this...".
There is lot of cool train action here (on the train , under the train , in the train) . Every bad guy is dispatched with minimum of effort as no-one is anywhere near as hard as Casey Ryback . Broken bones, severed limbs, terrorists in agonizing pain This movie has an obvious comic book feeling to it and I really liked the non stop carnage. They just don't make them like this anymore. Steven Seagal is basically invincible here. He gets shot , but the movie quickly forgets about it. His doing unbelievable stuff without breaking a sweat . "US 2" it does stretch reality to the breaking point and beyond, but it can be forgiven.
Steven Seagal was forced to do this movie after the failure of his very personal movie "On deadly ground" . There is even an unused footage from "ODG" here . Seagal doesn't even try to act here. His obviously unhappy that his making this movie and more stiff than usual. There is a damsel in distress here- Ryback's niece Sarah played by Katherine Hiegl who is a good eye candy and nothing more. Seagal also gets a sidekick - naive porter Bobby Zachs played nicely by Morris Chestnut.
The movie belongs to Eric Bogosian as crazed computer genius Travis Dane and menacing Everett McGill as Penn. There is veteran supporting actor Jonathan Banks ("Beverly hills cop") in small role of terrorist. Watch out for Kurtwood Smith ("Robocop") as a US general (too bad they didn't used him as a villain).
Idiotic , yet fun movie full of testosterone. Best cheap thrills you can find. I give it 5/10.
What we have here is basically "Die hard on train". The train itself is a good location. There is lot of pretty scenery and since the train is in constant motion the movie is also fast paced. I had problems with Geoff Murphy's direction in "Young guns 2" . Here he directs "US 2" with formidable energy. The movie is edited very quickly, almost like a music video. Speaking of music Basil Poledouris score is far superior than Gary Chang's from first movie. It's one of best soundtracks for action movie ever made. The special effects are adorably cheesy and add to the overall campy entertainment value. The script has some quotable one-liners : "Nobody beats me in the kitchen" , "Chance favors the prepared mind" , "Guess I'm not trained for this...".
There is lot of cool train action here (on the train , under the train , in the train) . Every bad guy is dispatched with minimum of effort as no-one is anywhere near as hard as Casey Ryback . Broken bones, severed limbs, terrorists in agonizing pain This movie has an obvious comic book feeling to it and I really liked the non stop carnage. They just don't make them like this anymore. Steven Seagal is basically invincible here. He gets shot , but the movie quickly forgets about it. His doing unbelievable stuff without breaking a sweat . "US 2" it does stretch reality to the breaking point and beyond, but it can be forgiven.
Steven Seagal was forced to do this movie after the failure of his very personal movie "On deadly ground" . There is even an unused footage from "ODG" here . Seagal doesn't even try to act here. His obviously unhappy that his making this movie and more stiff than usual. There is a damsel in distress here- Ryback's niece Sarah played by Katherine Hiegl who is a good eye candy and nothing more. Seagal also gets a sidekick - naive porter Bobby Zachs played nicely by Morris Chestnut.
The movie belongs to Eric Bogosian as crazed computer genius Travis Dane and menacing Everett McGill as Penn. There is veteran supporting actor Jonathan Banks ("Beverly hills cop") in small role of terrorist. Watch out for Kurtwood Smith ("Robocop") as a US general (too bad they didn't used him as a villain).
Idiotic , yet fun movie full of testosterone. Best cheap thrills you can find. I give it 5/10.
On a train trip through the Rockies with his niece (Katherine Heigl), Casey Ryback (Steven Seagal) has to take on a band of ruthless terrorists who are using the train for a mobile headquarters as they hijack a destructive satellite weapon created by the head terrorist (Eric Bogosian). Everett McGill plays the lead heavy, looking like an evil Race Bannon.
"Under Siege 2: Dark Territory" (1995) is a worthy follow-up to the 1992 film; it may not be as good story-wise, but it has superior locations due to it taking place on a train traveling through the mountains as opposed to the more one-dimensional ship at sea. If you're in the mood for a train flick that's streamlined and filled with action you can't go wrong. Sure, the action is sometimes implausible, but it helps if you view Ryback (Seagal) as a superhero without the gaudy costume in the manner of John McClane, Rambo or James Bond.
Comparing it to train thrillers, it's not great like "Runaway Train" (1985), but it's about on par with the horrific "Train" (2008), the Western "Breakheart Pass" (1975) and the realistic "Unstoppable" (2010).
Other than Heigl, the lovely Sandra Taylor and Brenda Bakke are featured on the feminine front.
The movie runs 1 hour, 40 minutes, and was shot mostly in the Colorado Rockies.
GRADE: B.
"Under Siege 2: Dark Territory" (1995) is a worthy follow-up to the 1992 film; it may not be as good story-wise, but it has superior locations due to it taking place on a train traveling through the mountains as opposed to the more one-dimensional ship at sea. If you're in the mood for a train flick that's streamlined and filled with action you can't go wrong. Sure, the action is sometimes implausible, but it helps if you view Ryback (Seagal) as a superhero without the gaudy costume in the manner of John McClane, Rambo or James Bond.
Comparing it to train thrillers, it's not great like "Runaway Train" (1985), but it's about on par with the horrific "Train" (2008), the Western "Breakheart Pass" (1975) and the realistic "Unstoppable" (2010).
Other than Heigl, the lovely Sandra Taylor and Brenda Bakke are featured on the feminine front.
The movie runs 1 hour, 40 minutes, and was shot mostly in the Colorado Rockies.
GRADE: B.
George Segal is gonna conquer some bad guys on a train, who want to destroy the world. YEAH!
The best B-movies are those which originally were meant to be taken seriously. This is one of those. Everything is ridiculous about it: the acting is mediocre and the dialogues the characters have to say are incredibly dumb, yet unintentionally very funny. Let's not forget the story. Ah, yes the story, I just cant stop laughing right now, having difficulty concentrating on writing this review, because the story is (unintentionally) THAT hilarious, that it becomes enjoyable again. Laughing my head off right now...
HOWEVER,.... I still do like this movie very much, because the original spirit of "Die Hard", which is the mother of ALL action movies, the spirit of that very same classic, is present as well in Siege 2: namely 1 guy who is gonna conquer all the bad guys. There is something unmistakably attractive and exhilarating about being THE good guy who is gonna come to the rescue. I love this sequal of Siege 2 more than I do the original. Honestly, there is something about the victorious mood of this picture that I really like. Or maybe I just like action on trains...
A powerful pounding glorious soundtrack is constantly pumping up the scenes, even if George Segal is only walking into a toilet. I love it, I would love to hear marching music every time I went to the toilet. It would make life a lot more fun.
Siege 2 really is a (hilariously) bad copy of Die Hard, only set on a train this time. But it is still lots of good fun, IF one doesnt make the mistake by taking this movie seriously. Expect a B-movie and enjoy the ride...
The best B-movies are those which originally were meant to be taken seriously. This is one of those. Everything is ridiculous about it: the acting is mediocre and the dialogues the characters have to say are incredibly dumb, yet unintentionally very funny. Let's not forget the story. Ah, yes the story, I just cant stop laughing right now, having difficulty concentrating on writing this review, because the story is (unintentionally) THAT hilarious, that it becomes enjoyable again. Laughing my head off right now...
HOWEVER,.... I still do like this movie very much, because the original spirit of "Die Hard", which is the mother of ALL action movies, the spirit of that very same classic, is present as well in Siege 2: namely 1 guy who is gonna conquer all the bad guys. There is something unmistakably attractive and exhilarating about being THE good guy who is gonna come to the rescue. I love this sequal of Siege 2 more than I do the original. Honestly, there is something about the victorious mood of this picture that I really like. Or maybe I just like action on trains...
A powerful pounding glorious soundtrack is constantly pumping up the scenes, even if George Segal is only walking into a toilet. I love it, I would love to hear marching music every time I went to the toilet. It would make life a lot more fun.
Siege 2 really is a (hilariously) bad copy of Die Hard, only set on a train this time. But it is still lots of good fun, IF one doesnt make the mistake by taking this movie seriously. Expect a B-movie and enjoy the ride...
For Seagal fans only. I think he is so stiff. Just being macho. There is action. Only Action. I think that is what he is only good at. So if that is what you are looking for, this movie may be for you.
These days, it is fashionable to be hating Steven Seagal and making fun of his martial arts but back when it came, this was a great movie and a worthy sequel. The technology like particle canon, using satellites to swat stealthy fighters etc that makes no sense was innovative. Having watched it about 20 times in the last 25 years over various media, I should say it is one of those films where you just enjoy and don't get bored. No surprises and quite good even better than the first one. This movie had some great cast like Jonathan Banks (Breaking Bad, Better call saul), Peter Greene (Pulp fiction, The mask) Eric Bogosian (Succession, Uncut gems,Law and order).
Steven has made some great action movies from late 80s to early 2000's but then he just got too old and arrogant, but there were some really good films in there. People seem to forgot that Steven in his late 30's and 40's was not the same in his 50's and 60's when he made some terrible movies. So cut him some slack and enjoy his original movies.
Steven has made some great action movies from late 80s to early 2000's but then he just got too old and arrogant, but there were some really good films in there. People seem to forgot that Steven in his late 30's and 40's was not the same in his 50's and 60's when he made some terrible movies. So cut him some slack and enjoy his original movies.
- tarbosh22000
- 26 mar 2018
- Permalink
What the movie is trying to tell us: Never get on anything that Steven Seagal is travelling with ... first it was the Submarine, now it's the train ... good thing he never took the bus, right? All kidding aside this gives people that don't expect much ... exactly what they crave for. Some interesting casting choices may help enjoy this too.
Overall though this is a dud - no pun intended. If that is remotely possible. Steven Seagal again showing no hint of any human emotion - but we know that already. Unfortunately we don't have the bad guy charisma we had in the first movie. Ryback (Seagals character name) just happens to be at the right (wrong?) place at the right (wrong?) time again. Not to mention that he seems to know the landscape so well that he doesn't have an issue chasing the traing at one point ... while Fast & Furious had scenes that were beyong belief, this has not the ridiculous fun factor they or other movies of that kind had ... Suspending your disbelief might just not be enough
Overall though this is a dud - no pun intended. If that is remotely possible. Steven Seagal again showing no hint of any human emotion - but we know that already. Unfortunately we don't have the bad guy charisma we had in the first movie. Ryback (Seagals character name) just happens to be at the right (wrong?) place at the right (wrong?) time again. Not to mention that he seems to know the landscape so well that he doesn't have an issue chasing the traing at one point ... while Fast & Furious had scenes that were beyong belief, this has not the ridiculous fun factor they or other movies of that kind had ... Suspending your disbelief might just not be enough