The Siege

aaharvel

Directed by Edward Zwick (Legends Of The Fall, Glory)
I liked this movie alot when I saw it in theatres in '98. Watching this movie again in a pre-9/11 world is very creepy indeed, almost like a fortune teller saying 'I told you so'.

Synopsis:
Muslim Terrorist cells attack New York city after the United States Armed Forces headed under General Deverous conduct without the permission and knowledge of the President an illegal foreign policy mission: To Kidnap the radical Muslim Shaik who seems to be modeled after Osama Bin Laden. As a result of their leaders abduction, Muslim fanatics take notice.

Some effective moments in the movie lie in the focus on the continuity (or lackthereof ) among several branches of the United States government when simultaenously are forced to work together to dissolve a terror crisis~ in this case the CIA, FBI and the U.S. Army.

Two key moments of The Siege are
1. The exploration of the boundaries into our own Constitution with regards to human rights.
2. Useful history into the former partnership/alliance the U.S. had with religious Muslim groups during the Afghani/Russian conflict and the 1st gulf war: a stable relationship that has since soured into 'The War On Terror'.

For the most part, the characters are not cardboard cutouts of "good guys" vs. "bad guys" which I find very refreshing for a modern day film.

I thought The Siege did a nice job of showing that Muslims & Muslim Americans by enlarge are peaceful people. Although it may seem the U.S. Army was demonized after martial law was declared I think that just centers around the commanding officer, General Devereous, not the troops themselves.

In the end this creates great tension between the one protagonist in FBI Agent Hubbard (Washington), a tweaner/go-between in CIA agent Sharon/Elise (Benning), and the protagonist turned antagonist General Deverous of the U.S. Army (Willis) as they all have one goal: to defeat the Islamic Terrorist cells that are residing in NYC.

I wholeheartedly recommend this movie to anyone with good taste, a pair of working eyes and a heartbeat.

Dennis Gardner

You mean you liked this better than "Under Siege"?

TroyD

One of the reasons this movie is affective is because it focuses on the relationships (and often times the distrust) among several branches of the United States government~ in this case the CIA, FBI and the U.S. Army. One of my favorite aspects of The Siege is that it explores the boundaries of our own Constitution in regards to human rights. For the most part, The characters are not cardboard cutouts of "good guys" vs. "bad guys".

In terms of pure entertainment value, ok. However, if you are using a Bruce Willis movie to form opinions about anything, I kinda have to shake my head and wonder.

BDT

BIZILL

double a, i agree with your assessment of the movie. it's been underrated. no one i know has ever seen the movie. when 911 was taking place, all i could think about was this movie. it was almost like a precursor or premonition of things to come. at times i even had to ask myself if terrorists may have at some point even 'learned' how to do the most damage to america from watching this movie. almost like terrorist training camp video material. i know that was never the intent, but the movie was spot on in how vulnerable americans really are. still, we are.