Bullet Points: Under Siege 2: Dark Territory
Sometimes I completely forget that there was a sequel to the amazing 1992 film Under Siege. The second film in the potentially ongoing series was released three years later and starred the still badass Steven Seagal as Casey Ryback. Instead of taking out terrorists on a massive Naval ship, though, he’s cruising around on a passenger train (who does that?) when he gets the opportunity to polish off some of those one-liners and lay the smack down on some more homegrown terrorists. It was probably a dream come true for the man after dealing with that bratty niece of his.
Synopsis: Now retired Navy SEAL Casey Ryback (Seagal) is traveling by train from Colorado to California when the thing is hijacked by a group of mercenaries armed with a massively powerful satellite weapon and a shit ton of guns. Ryback’s niece is among the hostages and Casey doesn’t appreciate not getting to finish that train magazine that they hand out for free. Needless to say, he uses his specific set of skills (killing people) to stop the terrorists and rescue Seth Rogen’s girlfriend before the train gets bombed by The Man.
- Let’s get this out of the way now: While I find Under Siege 2 to be a really fun movie on its own, it is infinitely more fun when you accept the following before watching it: Under Siege 2 is a direct sequel to both Under Siege and to the 1994 film My Father the Hero. For those of you who may not be familiar with that second movie, let me enlighten you. My Father the Hero came out the year before Dark Territory and it told the story of Katherine Heigl’s character Nicole and her father, played by Gérard Depardieu. If we are to accept this as truth (which you should), that would mean that Gérard Depardieu and Steven Seagal were brothers and GD was killed in that vehicle accident, forcing Seagal to pick up his daughter at the train station. Believe it.
- Why are the black guys always hitting on chicks: Is it just me or does it happen in every single movie between 1983-1998? Every young black man who isn’t the main character struts around hollering at any young girl he can find. Young Morris Chestnut does the hollering in this one and I think it’s safe to say that he might be looking at doing some time if Heigl’s parents aren’t consenting.
- Terrorism is so hot right now: While it may not have been in the news as much back then, terrorism was something that action movies had been focusing on for some time. Hell, Chuck Norris had been kicking the pants off of terrorists for a couple of decades already and Seagal was the logical next torch bearer. Under Siege 2 sees smart guy Travis Dane (Eric Bogosian) and tough guy Marcus Penn (Everett McGill) testing their terror skills against a true master of the art of killing people. They seem to think that they’ve got all the bases covered but then they realize that they didn’t check the train manifest to ensure that there were no American Heroes on board.
- Being a Chef ain’t easy: While Ryback’s niece flaunts her young body all over the train, Casey strolls down to the kitchen and does what he does second best; bake stuff. It isn’t long, however, before all of his new friends are leaking blood from their bodies and he’s once again hiding out in a giant freezer. Why Seagal doesn’t have an infomercial selling walk-in freezers at this point is anybody’s guess.
- How good are they at being Bad: I remember McGill most from his bad guys roles in Silver Bullet and The People Under the Stairs but he plays a somewhat convincing tough guy in this one. Not enough to slow down the unstoppable killing machine that is Casey Ryback but one that at least causes him to tighten up his girdle a bit before the final showdown. Bogosian is better known for his time on Law & Order: Criminal Intent than for duking it out with action stars. Anyone who though he’d be good for more than pissing off Seagal briefly before dying screaming was just lying to themselves. Seagal barely lets real tough guys wound him in movies so there was no chance that super nerd Travis Dane was getting anything.
- Nobody beats me in the Kitchen: 1995 was still a good year for Seagal. He was still in good enough shape to make kicking the crap out of three dozen men possible. A few years later and Katherine Heigl may have had to rely on her other assets to get her out of that pickle, but lucky for her and all of Washington D.C. Steven was still near the top of his game. There aren’t many who do it better when he’s hitting on all cylinders and Under Siege 2 is one of those movies that easily falls in my top ten Seagal films of all time. Plus, who doesn’t enjoy cooking inspired one-liners?
Until we get to see Casey Ryback fighting terrorists on a blimp, let’s enjoy these Bonus Bullet Points:
- One of my favorite stunt men to see die on film Manny Perry was spotted briefly before dying a horrible train death. Well done Manny!
- Maybe Samuel L. Jackson’s Mr. Glass should check up on Casey Ryback. He survives one of the most insane train crashes in history without a single scratch. Bad….ass.
- Seagal and the casting director reportedly got into it after the dude unknowingly cast Gary Busey in a role only to learn that he had died in the first film. Dark Territory was originally written as a non-Under Siege sequel so maybe that was before it got the sequel treatment.
The Verdict: Steven Seagal may need a stunt double for walking up a flight of stairs now but he was still kicking ass in 1995 and this is one of the last chances to see the man before his slow descent into mediocrity. Fast forward a few years and he looked more like a pregnant Kelly Clarkson (love your music Kelly!) than an action star. If you’ve ever ridden on a train and wondered what to do in case of a hijacking you’ll want to watch this one for educational purposes. It just may save your life.
