☆★☆★☆★☆★
Ebert gave three stars; Siskel and Ebert gave two enthusiastic thumbs up.
In the discussion (2)
- Ebert called the formula obvious but said the movie started working for him.
- Siskel called it one of the best moviegoing times of the year.
The hosts chose different comic-action peaks: the missile-launch hug, the final kiss, and the broader Ryback/Tommy Lee Jones action passages.
In the discussion (16)
- Ryback moving through the ship while the crew hangs on his every word was an opening candidate.
- The galley confrontation and Seagal’s improvised Cajun affect were nominated.
- Busey spitting into the bouillabaisse was nominated as a ruthlessly effective villain beat.
- The hijackers’ first shootout, with Busey in drag and Strannix killing the ranking officer, was nominated.
- Ryback escaping through the ceiling and immediately dispatching guards was nominated.
- Ryback covering the captain’s body and attempting a quiet acting beat was nominated.
- Strannix’s “welcome to the revolution” speech and the war-room reaction were nominated.
- The microwave bomb and its invented five-second countdown were nominated.
- The reveal of Ryback’s elite SEAL history was nominated.
- Ryback organizing an instant counterattack with the makeshift crew was nominated.
- Ryback building a bomb from a grenade, condom, wire, oil, recorder, and knapsack was nominated.
- The missile strike and awkward full-body celebratory hug were nominated.
- The final Ryback–Strannix knife fight and their mutual-recognition exchange were nominated.
- The joking deck finale, especially the infirmary and breakfast lines, was nominated.
- The final forced-looking kiss was dissected as bizarrely rewatchable.
- One final choice was the missile-launch hug; another was the last-five-seconds kiss.
Entrances, Seagal’s accidental comedy and hand technique, the supporting character design, war-room celebrations, ruthless villains, and the Navy look were praised.
In the discussion (15)
- Ryback received a strong character entrance.
- Strannix received a strong helicopter entrance.
- Jordan’s arrival established her failed-actress backstory efficiently.
- Seagal’s non-jokes remain funny.
- Seagal’s waving-hand fight technique remains visually distinctive.
- The cheering war-room convention still works.
- The villains’ decision to drown the trapped crew made them genuinely cruel.
- The USS Missouri, Pearl Harbor, and Desert Storm details gave the action plot military-history texture.
- “Wake up the president” was praised as enduring action-movie dialogue.
- Busey’s “psychological evaluation” exchange was praised.
- Bernie Casey’s presence and verbal exchanges with Strannix were praised.
- Ryback’s improvised blowtorch outfit and DIY problem-solving were praised.
- The hijackers’ food, booze, music, and visible enjoyment distinguished them from dour action villains.
- The Navy dress whites were praised as unusually flattering costuming.
- Wikipedia’s dry description of Under Siege II as “not as well received” amused the panel.
Jimi Hendrix’s “Voodoo Child (Slight Return)” was the emphatic choice.
In the discussion (1)
- The song’s unexpected use as the hijackers begin the revolution was praised.
The Ryback menu won; Busey’s loogie was the alternative, and the fake cake was ruled ineligible as food.
In the discussion (2)
- The cake was explicitly rejected because it was not real cake.
- The menu of Ryback-named dishes was preferred over the loogie.
The ocean was selected, while the discussion focused on the missed opportunity to see Seagal swim in a wide shot.
In the discussion (2)
- The ocean was the location choice.
- The hosts wished the movie showed more of Seagal’s swimming and running.
The emotional final salute was the choice.
In the discussion (1)
- The closing salute was selected, with Jordan’s Popeye-like outfit questioned.
Lieutenant Krill was the main choice for failing to neutralize Ryback; Ryback’s actual cooking skill became the counter-question.
In the discussion (2)
- Krill should have arranged to kill or secure Ryback before the takeover.
- The movie never demonstrates whether Ryback can cook.
The panel split between Jordan’s implausible rapid competence and Seagal disappearing into the refrigerator for too much of the movie.
In the discussion (2)
- Jordan’s transition from sedated cake performer to effective counter-coup participant strains plausibility.
- Seagal’s long absence from the action was argued as the larger rewatchability weakness.
George H. W. Bush and Barbara Bush were the playful choices for playing themselves.
In the discussion (1)
- Archival footage of George and Barbara Bush was treated as the category’s winner.
Seagal’s conduct and final kiss, gratuitous nudity, Casey Ryback’s name, a visibly living dead captain, indoor smoking, body doubles, and Busey’s later public image were discussed.
In the discussion (7)
- Seagal’s real-world conduct and the forced-feeling final kiss have aged poorly.
- The era’s gratuitous action-movie nudity has aged poorly.
- Casey Ryback sounds more like a sideline reporter than a Navy SEAL chef.
- The captain visibly breathing and blinking as a corpse was criticized.
- High-ranking officials smoking indoors during crisis meetings looked dated.
- The obvious Tommy Lee Jones body double in the final fight was cited.
- Busey’s later public image was contrasted with his charismatic Lethal Weapon and Point Break era.
Under Siege remained preferable to the proposed marketing title The Last to Surrender.
In the discussion (2)
- The marketing department wanted a three-word Seagal title and proposed The Last to Surrender.
- The title could work in a trailer but was not preferred over Under Siege.
“I do have 50 gallons of bouillabaisse that I could prepare for tomorrow” was the choice.
In the discussion (1)
- The quantity and use of gallons made the line memorably absurd.
Two takes were preserved: Seagal would improve The Fugitive as Richard Kimble, and Tommy Lee Jones gives essentially the same performance in both movies.
In the discussion (2)
- Seagal was proposed as a better Dr. Richard Kimble, with the action rewritten around him.
- Tommy Lee Jones was argued to play essentially the same character in Under Siege and The Fugitive.
The segment was effectively skipped: no casting what-ifs were found beyond Seagal almost not starring.
In the discussion (1)
- No substantive casting alternative was located.
Gary Busey was the decisive choice.
In the discussion (1)
- Busey’s confrontation and betrayal lines were offered as the peak examples.
Dwayne Davis, remembered as Alvin Mack from The Program, was selected from a deep field.
In the discussion (7)
- Private Nash from The Fugitive was nominated.
- Glenn Morshower was nominated.
- Nick Mancuso was nominated.
- Colm Meaney was nominated.
- Joe Kosala, recognized as Rosetti from The Fugitive, was nominated.
- Damian Chapa, recognized from Blood In Blood Out, was nominated.
- Dwayne Davis won on the strength of The Program and other football roles.
The unnamed war-room officer who calmly describes Honolulu reaching 10,000 degrees was the accepted choice.
In the discussion (1)
- A single apocalyptic line reading supplied the winning case.
Samuel L. Jackson replacing Gary Busey was the main proposal; Joey Pants joining the Fugitive-linked cast was the alternative.
In the discussion (2)
- Joey Pants was suggested to deepen the film’s Fugitive DNA.
- An early-career Samuel L. Jackson was proposed for Krill/Busey’s role.
Research covered Erika Eleniak’s E.T. appearance, Alabama shooting locations, budget-saving rewrites, Seagal’s Pearl Harbor idea, and the film persuading Harrison Ford to make The Fugitive.
In the discussion (7)
- Eleniak’s first feature role was the girl Elliott kissed in E.T.
- USS Alabama stood in for USS Missouri.
- Mobile-area locations and framing made the limited water appear to be open ocean.
- The script was reduced from an estimated $100 million version to a roughly $30 million production.
- Seagal proposed incorporating the Pearl Harbor memorial and gathered ships.
- Harrison Ford reportedly joined The Fugitive after seeing an Under Siege rough cut.
- The production used a blackout barge and visual blocking to conceal the Alabama’s surroundings.
Under Siege was identified as Seagal’s apex; other cases included Busey, Eleniak, the 1989 Playboy issue, Voodoo Child, and movie cooks.
In the discussion (8)
- Seagal’s commercial and industry standing clearly declined after this film.
- Busey’s apex was placed around Point Break, Under Siege, and The Firm, with The Buddy Holly Story as an earlier prestige high.
- Erika Eleniak was treated as an apex case.
- The June 1989 Playboy issue was treated as an apex case because Under Siege and Home Alone preserved its fame.
- “Voodoo Child” in Under Siege lost its apex case to its later NWO use.
- Casey Ryback was nominated as the apex movie cook who could also fight.
- Goodfellas’ prison cooking and Clemenza’s meatballs were competing movie-cook cases.
- Chef and Burnt were rejected because their cooks could not fight.
The takeover plan, surprise-party cover, one-woman entertainment plan, haircuts, accents, cake logic, pills, injury continuity, ovens, and payment were all questioned.
In the discussion (12)
- The ease with which armed terrorists boarded a nuclear battleship was the central nit.
- A surprise party was judged too flimsy a cover for activity on a nuclear battleship.
- Flying in only one entertainer for the party seemed implausible.
- Several sailors lacked expected military haircuts.
- Colm Meaney’s American accent disappears in later scenes.
- Jordan apparently slept inside the cake without hearing the gunfire.
- It was unclear whether Busey drugged Jordan or she simply took too many seasickness pills.
- Ryback’s water injury disappears in the next scene.
- The galley uses a gas-style oven even though the Navy reportedly uses electric appliances around shipboard weapons.
- Jordan’s exact job in the attack plan remained unclear.
- The amount Jordan was promised for the cake appearance was debated.
- Whether Jordan was ever paid remained unanswered.
A prestige-series remake was rejected.
In the discussion (1)
- The hosts did not want to see the premise expanded into prestige television.
Philip Baker Hall as the captain was the favored addition.
In the discussion (1)
- Philip Baker Hall was proposed as a major upgrade for Captain Adams.
Tommy Lee Jones was the immediate choice.
In the discussion (1)
- Tommy Lee Jones was selected without debate.
The panel asked whether Ryback or Seagal could cook, whether Seagal needed a ponytail, and how his action-hero physique worked.
In the discussion (3)
- Was Casey Ryback actually a good cook?
- Did Seagal need his trademark ponytail?
- How did Seagal’s unusual action-hero body coexist with total fight dominance?
The Fugitive was the consensus anchor; U-571, The Package, and Code of Silence were alternatives.
In the discussion (2)
- The Fugitive was the obvious pairing because Under Siege led directly to it.
- U-571, The Package, and Code of Silence were also proposed.
Two dark speculative futures for Casey and Jordan were offered; neither was treated as fact.
The panel is imagining how this might look in the future.
In the discussion (2)
- One speculation had the pair go to Hawaii before the relationship turned abusive.
- Another had Jordan return to Los Angeles, struggle in acting, and later circle back to Casey.
The Ryback menu and Tommy Lee Jones’s aviators/leather jacket were the choices.
In the discussion (2)
- The Ryback menu was desired as wall art.
- The competing choice was Strannix’s aviators and jacket.
“Don’t underestimate the cook” was the lesson.
In the discussion (1)
- A military cook may have a formidable background and should not be dismissed.
Tommy Lee Jones won for carrying the film into The Fugitive and an enduring career.
In the discussion (1)
- Tommy Lee Jones was the agreed choice.
Roger Ebert's review
Most Rewatchable Scene
What’s Aged the Best?
The Slow Ride / Kid Cudi – Pursuit of Happiness Award for Best Needle Drop
The Great Shot Gordo Award for Most Cinematic Shot
The Butch’s Girlfriend Award for the Weakest Link in the Film
What’s Aged the Worst?
Is There a Better Title for This Movie?
The Stephen A. Smith Hottest Take Award
The Ruffalo / Hanna / Rubinek / Partridge Overacting Award
The Joey Pants “That Guy” Award
The Dion Waiters Award for Best Heat Check Performance
Apex Mountain
Sequel, Prequel, Limited Series, or All-Black Remake
Is This Movie Better With…?
Just One Oscar
What Piece of Memorabilia Would You Want From This Movie?
The Coach Finstock Award for Best Life Lesson
Who Won the Movie?