Today’s quick review: Under Siege 2: Dark Territory. While on a cross-country train trip with his niece Sarah (Katherine Heigl), ex-Navy SEAL Casey Ryback (Steven Seagal) becomes the only hope of stopping a terrorist attack when Travis Dane (Eric Bogosian) hijacks the train. Dane, the disgruntled inventor of an American weapons satellite, plans to take control of his creation and use it to hold the capital of the United States hostage.
Under Siege 2: Dark Territory is an action movie starring Steven Seagal. The sequel to Under Siege swaps the USS Missouri and its payload of nuclear weapons for a passenger train and the keys to a satellite with enormous destructive power. Under Siege 2 offers a fair amount of action as Casey Ryback fights to regain control of the train. However, poor dialogue, a weaker premise, and less imagination make it a step down from the original.
As far as action is concerned, Under Siege 2 is decent but unexceptional. Ryback’s journey through the train has the usual assortment of gunplay, martial arts, and improvised weaponry. But the train makes for cramped quarters, even more so than the battleship of the first film, and there’s no uptick in creativity to exploit the unusual setting. The result is adequate action that’s lacking any real set pieces or jaw-dropping stunts.
When it comes to story, Under Siege 2 is on shakier ground. The core plot points are passable, but the scaffolding for them is weak. The premise relies on a futuristic weapons satellite rather than a more conventional threat, in contrast with the more believable premise of the first film. There’s also little in the way of subplots to pad out the main story, and the train makes a sparse and generic setting compared to the USS Missouri.
As for acting, Under Siege 2 comes up short. Steven Seagal does well enough during the fight scenes, but the rest of the time he has none of the charm he had in the original, thanks to both uninspired dialogue and a mediocre performance. His sidekicks, Sarah and a young porter named Bobby (Morris Chestnut), are neither funny nor memorable. The only performance that leaves a good impression is Eric Bogosian as the unhinged Travis Dane.
Watch Under Siege 2: Dark Territory when you’re looking for popcorn action and aren’t feeling too particular about story. Under Siege 2 checks the boxes when it comes to action, but it’s outclassed by other action movies in terms of both plot and spectacle. For a better take on a similar premise, try the original Under Siege. For similar but on a bus, try Speed. For a thriller variant on a plane, try Non-Stop. For generally better action, try Die Hard.
5.4 out of 10 on IMDB. I give it a 6.0 to 6.5 for decent action but little else.