Express en péril

DIE HARD aboard a train, there will be more, a couple I guess, in the future; Aboard a train, I mean. Because you had DIE HARD rip offs on all kind of transportation or facilities, except a pet cemetery or a taxi cab...That said, I prefered this one to the first Andrew Davis' opus, I don't know why...This Geoff Murphy's movie is not better, but maybe the bodycount was a bit easier. Bodycount of the villians wasted one by one, that's the main interest for this kind of film. And of course in the end, you have to obtain the exact count. If not, let's admit it is a bit boring. I have seen action flicks where the more the bad guys are killed, the more you have bad guys!!!! Yes, a good action film, worth seeing, despite it is of course lousy, forgettable.

The best Steven Seagal movie to date. This is the second, and apparently the last, in the series in which Seagal plays Casey Ryback, an ex-Navy SEAL Captain, who, as explained in Under Siege, was demoted for punching out a superior for poor intelligence which got many of his men killed. In Under Siege 2, his character has been promoted from Chief to Lieutenant, although we only find that out in the end.

Unlike some of his earlier movies in which Seagal fights for causes, specifically liberal environmental issues, here Seagal is fighting strictly for family and Country. The first scene starts off with Seagal making his appearance in civilian clothes to dramatic music. We learn the grim news that his character's only brother and sister-in-law were killed in a plane crash, leaving his only relative, a niece, still alive. He accompanies the teenager on a train ride from Denver to LA. He has the bad luck, but good for his Country, to be on the train that is attacked by terrorists bent on destroying Washington, D.C., and the US eastern coast for profit only. The maniacal would-be killer of millions is character Travis Dane, recently fired by a Government agency. The terrorist method is a high-tech powerful new weapon orbiting the earth and the train moving through lonely mountains provides the screen, as in "Dark Territory". Seagal seems somewhat lucky to avoid being killed early on, but then becomes a locomotive of destruction for the bad guys. Andy Romano returns as the full admiral, chairman of the joint chiefs of staff and provides a continuity from the first Under Siege movie. This is all action showing Seagal as a dedicated and deadly force of protection for the train hostages and the citizens to the east. The action moves, and some of the death blows are right out of the military manual. Watchable over and over and still exciting.

This film is one of Steven Seagal's best and has all the elements of a Bond film: a driven hero, a villain brilliantly played by Eric Bogosian, and a hard-hitting assassin played by Everett McGill. Beauty is respected as a formula that ensures success and the action sequences are precisely dosed by Geoff Murphi, who here offers his best film. What is most surprising is that despite having had many successful films Steven Seagal chose the path of destroying his career with questionable products that instead of entertaining had other objectives. It is a film that does not lose its validity and that is enjoyable. This same recipe was the one that ensured the success of Kingsman and other sagas. We must never forget history if we want to make money.

Casey Ryback (Steven Seagal) having left the Navy to open a restaurant must now escort his niece (Katherine Heigl) home via train after her father's recent death. While on the train, a group of terrorists lead by crazed engineer Dane and bloodthirsty mercenary Penn (Eric Bogosian and Everett McGill respectively) hijack the train to use it as a base of operations to hijack a black ops satellite weapon capable of causing earthquakes with the intent being to destroy Washington D.C. once again only Ryback can save the day.

After the massive critical and commercial success of the first Under Siege, Warner Bros. was so eager to do a sequel that they allowed Seagal to direct and star in his vanity project On Deadly Ground....after, whatever that was came Under Siege 2: Dark Territory which throws out all pretense of taking place on planet Earth and goes into insanity normally reserved for 90s comics and video games that I can't help but love.

Like the last Under Siege, the true stars of the movie are the villains and location. Eric Bogosian and Everett McGill while somewhat similar in terms of motivation and character to Tommy Lee Jones and Gary Busey from the first movie (down to Bogosian having a bone to pick with the CIA after having been burned) they bring a different approach to similar characters to make them feel unique to the situation. Bogosian in particular is great as an unhinged tech genius playing the role in a manner similar to Elliott Gould or Dustin Hoffman circa 1970 that makes him feel more authentic than I think the movie was trying to do. Their plan is completely detached from reality unlike the first one which at least pretended to take place in some realistic fashion, and now the villains are involved in Lex Luthor level shenanigans involving what amounts to an "Earthquake Machine" but never directly called that and tap danced around with a lot of technical jargon. The insanity of the plot as well as Bogosian's and McGill's ability to maintain seriousness adds to the film's charm and makes it somewhat endearing.

The Train despite seemingly more limited in terms of possibilities to a battleship is used to great effect in Under Siege 2. The train is used for some great shootout sequences, closed quarters combat, and even chases across the train's rooftops (an unwritten rule for any thriller featuring a train as a centerpiece). Everything that can be done with a train, IS done with a train, right up to an absolutely insane climax that involves another train that must be seen to be believed. The supporting cast is a little more dialed back this time around as Seagal is given more screen time than in the first one, which leads to some minor detriment to some of the characters. Katherine Heigl is good playing Ryback's niece, but despite her being established as a fighter like her uncle it never comes into play in any meaningful fashion. Morris Chestnut however in an early performance is quite good playing a porter who reluctantly teams up with Ryback to help stop the terrorists from executing their plans. Chestnut shows a lot of charisma in his role and adds some nice touches of humor and humanity to what could have easily been a throwaway role.

While Under Siege 2 lacks novelty, tension, and punch of the first movie, it more than makes up for it with sheer amounts of excess and silliness that keeps you engaged throughout. From its villains over the top plan that feels like it belongs in a 90s arcade game to the sheer dedication to treating this situation seriously, it's an entertaining rush from start to finish that every action fan owes themselves to experience.

This was pretty good actually, despite having some production problems(word has it that they were thinking of bringing Gary Busey's character back from Under Seige I-yeah, right-off the exploding Sub? Not likely...)But anyways, this worked well for me. I enjoyed Seagal, showed a bit of humour here in places, thought the train gave it a decent closed in setting, liked both Kurtwood Smith and Everett McGill doing what they do best. (Smith has played the worried Pentagon staffer before too, about the same way...) My impression of Bogosian was that he was a bit too wired at times in his portrayal but it worked just the same. Overall an enjoyable if not great action film, the sort Seagal should have made more of.

**1/2 outta ****, nothing great, but alright.