The Siege (1998)

I have to say that, to me, there's an almost prophetic feel to this movie, looked at 20 years after it was made. The story is fairly simple. As it opens, the US military captures the leader of a terrorist group in the Middle East. In response, cells of the terrorist group begin a series of random attacks on New York City to try to win his release. We then follow the FBI, the CIA and the military (portrayed basically by Denzel Washington and Tony Shalhoub, Annette Bening and Bruce Willis respectively) as they try to identify the various cells and regain control of the situation. That's the story. It's straightforward in some ways (and, at times, I also found it a bit confusing.) The performances by those four were pretty good - although I thought Willis wasn't really given enough to do. As far as story goes, it's a decent movie, but no more than that. But after it ended and I thought about it, I started to make some connections with the world of today.First, and important, is that this movie was made three years before the 911 attacks on the World Trade Centre. The movie seems to be based on the premise that it would take a series of terrorist attacks to throw New York City into chaos. As we now know, all it took was one (admittedly massive) attack on September 11, 2001. But, that aside, that's where I started to see this as almost prophetic.Second, the movie portrays a complete lack of communication and a very competitive relationship between the various organs of the US government: the aforementioned FBI, CIA and military. They don't co-operate, and they often seem actually to be in a sort of competition with each other, keeping secrets from each other so that, often, the right hand didn't seem to know what the left hand was doing. Again, from 911, we know that this portrayal turned out not to be that far off the mark.Third, in the movie the ultimate response of the US government is to declare martial law and to send troops on to the streets of New York City. The rights of citizens were ignored. People became suspects because of their race or religion. Hateful comments started to fill the airwaves. Well, in the aftermath of 911 it's true that no one declared martial law. However, the US government has certainly curtailed rights through what was innocuously named the "Patriot Act," police forces seemed to become more militarized, and hatred toward various identifiable groups (especially Muslims) has taken hold of a lot of people. So, again, the movie was a bit too extreme in its portrayal of martial law, but not really that far off the mark.So, while I may not have thought that "The Siege" was any better than decent, I did find it something that caused me to do some reflection on the current state of the world. That raised it in my estimation. (8/10)

While watching this film for the second time about a week or so ago, the first thought that came to my mind was "Wow, this is exactly the kind of political/dramatic intrigue that the TV series '24' tries to accomplish each and every episode". A weaving of action, political subject matter, and gut-wrenching emotional moments puts "The Siege" up towards the top of my list (just below "A Few Good Men") of politically-based thrillers.The basic plot of the film centers on a terrorist cell that launches a series of attacks based in New York City. Denzel Washington plays a government agent given the task of coordinating the effort to subdue the terrorism, while Bruce Willis is the military general brought onto the scene when the situation begins spiraling out of control. It is rather remarkable that this film was actually made BEFORE 9/11, as it deals with some of the exact same subject matter, including the reaction to terrorism, internment camps (this time for Muslim-Americans), and the ideological clash between the Eastern and Western world.Acting-wise, Washington is at his brooding, intense best throughout the entire movie, culminating with his "bend the law, shred the constitution" speech when dealing with the issue of torture. Willis' military character is actually sorely underutilized, yet provides the perfect antithesis (but not antagonist) to Washington. Annette Bening is the other primary lead character, and she also gives a competent (if not over-the-top at times) performance.About the only reason I give this film four stars instead of five is because, although it is compelling, it falls well short of the mark now set by "24" which provides just as much political drama/action in a arc of episodes as this movie does in its entire runtime (although that is more of an affirmation of 24's genius than this film's shortcomings). If you are a fan of political films that will really make you think, you will heartily enjoy the entire experience. Plus, it could be your stepping-stone to an entirely new saga of political drama..."24".

An Excellent Movie ... NYC Is Under Attack By Terrorist Enemy ... How Far Can You Go And Still Be The Good Guy ... I Am Reminded Of Benjamin Franklin Who Said "Those Who Would Give Up Liberty For Security Deserve Neither" ... Denzel Washington As The FBI Agent Trying To Stop The Enemy Without Becoming The Enemy ... Bruce Willis The General Who Promises To Stop The Enemy No Matter The Cost ... Annette Bening The CIA Trying Desperately To Stop An Enemy That They Helped Create ... More Action Than You Can Shake A Stick At ... This Is A Scary Scary Movie About What May Happen When You Are Willing To Do Anything To Get The Job Done .... My IMDb Rating 9 Out Of 10

Powerful cautionary tale regarding America's response to Arab terrorism. Produced before the tragic 9/11 attacks in New York City, this film is stunning in the way it is so prescient. It is also unrelenting in suspense and building the tense environment that follows terrorism perpetrated by rampaging Arabs. Some of the sequences are truly haunting and one scene in particular where Bruce Willis, the commander of the military force in Manhattan, is framed by the Twin Towers is simply startling. Tony Shaloub gives a tremendous performance as an Arab- American FBI agent who witnesses his innocent son incarcerated in a Central Park camp surrounded by barbed wire. A scene involving him and Washington outside the fence of that camp absolutely steals the motion picture and puts Shaloub on the map as one of this country's finest actors.