Where to watch Under Siege 2: Dark Territory
3 Stars
Seal Team Commander Casey Ryback has retired from the Navy since the conclusion of the events in the first movie, and is now a chef at the Mile High Cafe in Denver, Colorado. Ryback is taking his niece Sarah Ryback on vacation, to reconnect and commiserate with her after the death of her parents. They board a train traveling westbound through the Rocky Mountains from Denver to LA. With the help of gun-for-hire Marcus Penn a couple dozen of his mercenaries, ex-CIA brain (and mentally unstable) Travis Dane commandeers the train, takes the passengers and crew hostage, and sets up a mobile control center. He hacks into the CIA database and gains control of a Top-Secret defence satellite he designed during his Agency days that has just been deployed. Funded by various foreign interests, he stands to make 1 billion dollars for using the space weapon to blow up the Eastern seaboard by targeting a nuclear reactor housed beneath the Pentagon. Dane taunts the Joint Chiefs in the Pentagon Situation Room by using it to blow up a Chinese chemical weapons plant and the two stealth planes sent to intercept him, secure in the knowledge that he cannot be stopped because his location can’t be traced as long as the train keeps moving, his location can’t be fixed. Ryback, aided by young porter Bobby Zachs, is the only ones who can take out the bad guys, rescue the hostages, and prevent the destruction of the eastern seaboard before Dane can realise his dastardly plans!
Steven Seagal returns in this entertaining sequel to “Under Siege.” The original film was an effective “Die Hard” knockoff that introduced Tommy Lee Jones to mainstream audiences and established Seagal as a movie star rather than just a martial artist/actor. While the first film took place entirely aboard a U.S. Naval vessel, this sequel unfolds on a moving train.
In what is arguably his signature role as Casey Ryback—a soft-spoken chef, ex-Navy SEAL, and one-man army—Seagal appears more at ease in front of the camera than he did in the previous installment. The directing duties for this film were handled by Geoff Murphy (known for “Young Guns 2” and “FreeJack”), who understands that the quality of the villains can make or break a film like this. He casts notable actors, including Eric Bogosian (from “Talk Radio”) as Travis Dane, a mad computer genius seeking revenge and wealth after being fired from his government job. Evert McGill (from “The People Under the Stairs”) plays the leader of a group of mercenaries hired by Dane to hijack the train and hold its passengers for ransom.
Unfortunately for the villains, they didn’t anticipate that Ryback’s niece, played by a very young Katherine Heigl, would be on board this train. Soon enough, Seagal is running, jumping, and primarily kicking his way through the hijackers and various compartments. He is aided by a porter, portrayed by Morris Chestnut, whose over-the-top performance is intended for comedic relief but comes off as excessive.
Despite some thrilling moments throughout its lively 105-minute running time, this sequel doesn’t quite match the charm of the first film, which benefitted from Andrew Davis’s direction and the presence of a charismatic villain in Jones. However, the film has its merits. The script is well-crafted, with Bogosian delivering some memorable lines, and Seagal has enough one-liners to satisfy his fanbase. For example, after defeating a bad guy in the train’s galley, he quips, “Nobody beats me in the kitchen.” With impressive stunt work and strong direction from Geoff Murphy, “Under Siege 2” is a worthy follow-up to the highly regarded original.
Directed by: Geoff Murphy
Written by: Richard Hatem, Matt Reeves, J.F. Lawton
Starring: Steven Seagal, Eric Bogosian, Everett McGill