Steven Seagal has never been able to do it for me, that probably explains why this is the first time I have ever seen this movie. Upon reading the back it seemed to have potential, the first thing I notice on the back was the comment “Die Hard on a battleship”. That’s a bold statement as Die Hard is one of the best action movies ever made, having all the core elements.
It’s the fiftieth anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor as the movie begins, and it’s the final voyage of the USS Missouri. …teven Seagal plays Casey Ryback an ex-navy seal turned cook who has the tedious task of retaking the ship once terrorists seize it. Tommy Lee Jones and Garry Busey play the leaders of the terrorists, who are now hell bent on stopping Segal from reeking havoc on their plans. Yes the movie plays out in similar fashion to Die Hard but lacks everything that made that movie good. I’ve never been a fan of Seagal and this movie clearly demonstrates why. The guy acts like a robot, lacking any charisma that Stallone and even Schwarzenegger bring to the action genre. This guy is supposed to be well trained in martial arts but I don’t see it, all he does is throw people around, no Jackie Chan moves here.
I enjoyed Gary Busey in the first Lethal Weapon and he is clearly capable of playing the bad guy role good but I found his performance in Under Siege to be lacking. Maybe it was the horrid script he had to deal with, either way it’s disappointing. I didn’t think it would take much for this guy to act like a psycho because it’s all he’s been known too do, but instead I got a cross dressing hack.
Tommy Lee Jones is the only person in this movie worth noting. I’ve always found Mr. Jones to be a good actor, yes even in Batman Forever. He plays the bad guy well, much like he played the sarcastic psychopath Two Face. If there was anyone that saved face for this movie it was him, as no one else could provide any real acting.
If you haven’t seen this movie yet then I would say continue to avoid it, you are not missing much if anything at all. If you a die-hard fan of Seagal (are there any of you?) then you have already checked it out, otherwise avoid it at all costs.
Video
Under Siege is presented in a 1080p 1.85:1 aspect ratio. Disappointing, yes the movie is horrid but I was still hoping for a good transfer – unfortunately it did not deliver. One thing I hope doesn’t happen to the HD DVD format is the release of pictures as quickly as a studio can release them, taking no time in the video transfer. Even movies as bad as this should still be given a good video restore. I know Warner Brothers is capable of putting out better video transfers, but maybe they didn’t think they would be disappointing the two or three people who buy it.
Grain is apparent in many of the scenes, some taking place at night look like SD DVD. Overall, I expect better from an HD DVD at this point, and was let down.
Audio
Presented in Dolby Digital 5.1, the audio is the best part of the HD-DVD, although that isn’t saying much. Most of movie sounds good, with decent usage of bass and rear speakers. Several scenes throughout the movie I did notice some audio popping which is disappointing. I noticed movies from this era (early 90’s) on SD DVD have this echo edge to them and it is apparent on this HD DVD as well. For the most part the audio gets the job done but it is lacking the extra punch that most HD DVDs have.
Special Features
No extras here, oh wait you get a two minute theatrical trailer! Enjoy this trailer as much as you can because that’s all you’re going to get with this disc. I guess Seagal is too busy with his flourishing acting career to come back and give us some commentary.
Final Thoughts
This is the worst disc I have viewed on HD DVD. Granted I thought the movie was absolute trash but it’s still unfortunate that the disc was given such a poor presentation on HD DVD. Grainy video and no extras it’s hard to recommend this to anyone but fans of the film.
