Siege

Pros: Fine performances by Washington, Shalhoub, and Bening.
Cons: Uneven script, eventually falls flat

When this film was released in 1998, the topic of Islamic-inspired terrorism and how American law enforcement, the intelligence community, and the military would respond to -- or even be aware of -- a series of escalating attacks in the United States was ...

Pros: prophetic
Cons: nobody was listening

``What if they were black people? What if they were Italian?'' These words ... get at the heart of the film, which is about a roundup of Arab-Americans after terrorist bombs strike New York City ...." "I'm not arguing that ``The Siege'' is a ...

Pros: Great acting, captivating plot, eerily prescient.
Cons: Just a bit slow at a few points.

Terror attacks in New York. Hundreds of casualties, massive disturbances to daily life, suspension of civil rights, military deployments in response. Sounds like something out of today’s headlines, right? That may be, but it’s also the theme of ...

Pros: Great acting, Wonderful story and social message, Interesting character dynamics, Educational.
Cons: No DVD bonus features, Pacing

There are few films that have come so highly recommended to me in recent years as "The Siege," a film about terrorism in the United States that predates the September 11, 2001 attacks to New York City, Washington, D.C. and Pennsylvania. It came to me ...

Pros: Excellent movie in almost every way.
Cons: No one payed attention to it. Even when Arab terrorism was on front page news.

It is the late 1990's and the US Government's kidnapping of a terrorist leader sparks Islamic terrorist cells to target locations in NYC for suicide bombings. FBI director Hubbard (Denzel Washington) is forced to team up with a shady ex-spy (Annette ...

Pros: Art imitating real life...
Cons: May be too intense for certain audiences...

This is one of those disaster flicks that foreboded grim truth for audiences across America, but little did anyone suspect it would happen so soon. Back towards the end of last century, moviegoers were titillated by killer tornadoes, cloned dinosaurs and...

Pros: Freight-train narrative, sophisticated preaching, thought- provoking.
Cons: Still, preaching is preaching. Scapegoating of Bruce Willis character.

The opening is out of a Tom Clancy technothriller, with the
skillful desert `extraction' of an Iraqi religious leader whose followers are responsible for horrendous terrorist acts. Cut to New York City, where an indeterminate number of the hostage...

Pros: Denzel, Annette, and Bruce.
Cons: Script.

Do not mistake The Siege for something that it's not. Despite its protestations, the flaws of this movie doom it to the life of a reasonably good action movie. Because that's the simple answer: this is an action movie, and nothing more....

Pros: Good action, FBI portrayed well, overall feeling,
Cons: Bening's Elise, weak ending and resolution

"The Siege" is one of those films that has some smart things to say and a few really nice moments of intelligence that go beyond the norm of today's action films. Unfortunately, in keeping with this genre of films I've described, it also has...

Pros: A solid and well thought out suspense drama...
Cons: Some may find certain characters cliched, but I don't...

1998's "The Siege" is a surprisingly smart, taught action thriller with an impressive cast that works hard to thrust this movie forward and make it believably real. The movie falls into a similar vein as that of last year's "The Peacemaker." "The Siege,"...

Pros: Action, Suspense, Drama...Great Actors/Actresses
Cons: Not For Children

After the U S Military captures a Muslim leader, New York becomes the target of terrorist attacks. In an effort to bring the terrorist to justice, the government declares Martial Law. The tanks rolled through the streets, the stadium becomes a holding...

Pros: Expert notching up of the intensity
Cons: CIA agents might actually be that stupid; audience might miss point

Believe it or not, the declaration of martial law and the suspension of habeas corpus are completely distinct legal actions. I know this because of my research into Reconstruction; but to remind myself, and because it's a great flick, I rented "The...

Pros: Suspenseful, well acted, different
Cons: Not action-packed, arab unfriendly

I have a VERY mixed opinion of this film. Let's start with the bad stuff first. If you are looking for pure non-stop action (a la Lethal Weapon), don't look here. There is lots of action here, but it stops periodically and turns cerebral. It's kind of...

Pros: Bruce willis says "I am the law!"
Cons: If only he knew why

A bus full of passengers explodes in downtown New York. An Arab radical group is responsible. Terrorism has come to America.
The Siege, directed by Edward Zwick, explores how the U.S. government might deal with such a situation.

Things...

Pros: Good performances, Plenty of action
Cons: Somewhat unsatisfying plot elements, Bruce Willis miscast

I came away from watching "The Siege" with a nagging question. Not why wasn't it good,because it's not bad, but rather why wasn't it a much better film? Certainly, it had all the cards stacked in its favor to make for a superior,...