Under Siege 4K Ultra HD

While Schwarzenegger and Stallone took up two spots on the Mt. Rushmore of ‘80s action movies and Bruce Willis was paying off the third in installments, there were plenty of hopefuls competing for that fourth-place finish. While studs like Chuck Norris and Jean-Claude Van Damme worked on their applications, every once in a while a studio would give them a shot at the big time. Such is the case with Steven Seagal and Under Siege (1992), an unapologetic Die Hard knock-off that built upon the actor’s growing popularity.

Casey Ryback (Seagal) is a decorated veteran riding out his naval career as a cook aboard the USS Missouri when the ship is hijacked by a gang of weapons merchants led by Strannix (Tommy Lee Jones), a bitter ex-CIA contractor with a longstanding grudge. Escaping the crew headcount, Ryback teams up with Miss July 1988 (Erika Eleniak) to thwart the terrorists plans from the inside with government officials debate their options – including killing everyone aboard – to protect their vulnerable nuclear arsenal.

Reunited with director Andrew Davis (who’d helm The Fugitive a year later), Seagal is his usual arrogant asshole self no matter what character he’s playing. But Under Siege surrounds him with so much talent that the rising tide lifts the entire ship, including another classic ‘90s performance from Gary Busey and a roster of competent character actors. Shot on board an actual decommissioned battleship, the movie operates on a completely different scale than Seagal’s other films, jumping between claustrophobic hand-to-hand combat below decks and grandiose explosions topside. Under Siege just feels expensive in a way modern action flicks don’t anymore.

But, let’s be honest, it’s Tommy Lee Jones who serves as the film’s very own personal flotation device. For a character competing with the ghost of Hans Gruber, Jones manages to make Strannix interesting through sheer force of will and clever improvisation. Erika Eleniak’s topless surprise party reveal doesn’t hurt either. It might be painful for action fans to admit but Under Siege succeeds despite Seagal’s presence rather than because of it.

Arrow gives this one the 4K Ultra HD treatment in a new restoration that thankfully isn’t drowning in DNR; the image itself looks rich, dark and colorful with a normal amount of film grain. All-new extras include a commentary track and interview with Andrew Davis, more conversations with Eleniak, co-star Damian Chapa, VFX supervisor William Mesa and a collector’s booklet.