The success ofUnder Siege made a sequel mandatory according to Hollywood's rules of maximum revenue, and as sequels go, this one's not half bad. Steven Seagal returns as former Navy SEAL and skilled chef Casey Ryback, who's trying to spend quality time with his niece on a cross-country train trip. But as luck and action-movie formulas would have it, the train has been hijacked by a demented genius (Eric Bogosian) who is using the train as a moving platform to seize computerised control of a top-secret U.S. satellite that is capable of causing earthquakes from space.... Seagal has to stop the train or the villain (whichever comes first), and the action is fast and furious on its way to a high-speed climax. He's not as wacky as Tommy Lee Jones in the first Under Siege, but Bogosian has got a delirious quality that serves the comic-book plot, and action fans get more than their fill of dazzling stunts and special effects. --Jeff Shannon [show more]
Steven Segal returns, along with both of his facial expressions, in the guise of Casey Ryback, the only chef to be entered into the Guiness Book of Records for breaking the greatest amount of necks in a dramatic context. This time, he's on a train ride with his niece when a bunch of bad-assed terrorists turn up to seize said vehicle, so as to keep their location a mystery when they initiate their doomsday mission of the week.
Having gained control of an extremely dangerous top-secret space satellite (as you do), they then proceed to wreak havoc with its particularly pesky particle beam, their ultimate target being the San Andreas Fault. Only Casey the killer cook can make a difference, backed up by a young porter (a terrible black stereotype who's basically there to provide the comic relief (er... was it needed?))
Yes, the script is laughable (one good gag, and one good observation: "Assumption is the mother of all ****-ups"); yes, the acting is lousy - save for Everett MacGill who makes an OK villain (though hardly in the Alan Rickman class); and yes, there are holes (after introducing the niece's martial arts skills, why wasn't something made of them?) But the story is certainly sufficient (think Friday night), and thanks to director Jeff Murphy and the rest of the tech crew, this is fun, fun, fun all the way (so long as you don't stop to think.)
The violence is extreme and suitably gratuitous, the explosions are big and loud, a couple of the stunts are truly boggling, and the miniature work during the climax is absolutely spectacular.
Nice film, shame about the human input, although the abundance of sheer stupidity should have many squealing with glee, while the neck-snapping, finger-breaking, head-cracking and flesh-slashing will have the Segal crowd howling for blood. But beware... for this UK DVD release, the film has been cut by two minutes and one second for "pervasive and gloating violence". Cheers, BBFC!!
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