Under Siege (1992)

Directed by Andrew Davis. Starring Steven Seagal, Tommy Lee Jones, Gary Busey, Erika Eleniak, Colm Meaney, Andy Romano, Nick Mancuso, Richard Andrew Jones, Dale Dye, Patrick O’Neal, Dennis Lipscomb, Glenn Morshower, Tom Wood, Damian Chapa, Troy Evans, Eddie Bo Smith Jr. [R]

When screw-loose ex-CIA operative Jones, disgruntled Naval officer Busey, and a team of elite professionals seize control of a United States battleship to steal a load of cruise missiles, it’s up to SEAL-turned-chef Seagal (and, erm, Miss July ’89 Eleniak) to save the day. Easily action-star Seagal’s most entertaining flick works in spite of him—sure, he’s about as “good” here as he ever would be, and almost seems like he has a sense of humor about his persona (his idea of vulnerability is coming out on the other end of the fight-to-the-finish needing “three or four stitches”), but it’s the villains and production team that turn this one into a well-oiled, compulsively-watchable action pic. Jones and Busey chew the scenery (and roast beef) with relish, and the movie always picks up a bit whenever they’re onscreen. Lots of stunts, hardware, gunfire and explosions, but a shortage of truly memorable set pieces is what keeps this one from becoming a genre mainstay; still, it’ll do and then some on a lazy evening starved for a little professionally-packaged violence and special effects. Shot on the docked U.S.S. Alabama standing in for the U.S.S. Missouri. Followed by a sequel set aboard a hijacked train.

68/100