Under Siege (1992)

There are three types of action fans: those who like Chuck Norris, those who like Jean-Claude Van Damme, and those who like Steven Seagal. None of these masters of the low budget action genre are highly regarded for their acting ability, but they are highly regarded for their ability to kick butt. Personally I've always been a Seagal fan, he's the one in my opinion who has it all, Chuck Norris doesn’t have the look and comes off quite corny to me, and Van Damme is the worst of the three in terms of acting. Seagal, at least in his younger years, had the "don't mess with me" look down, and his raspy cool voice and demeanor made him that much cooler, not to mention the fact that Seagal can take anyone down without a scratch! Sure it's all unbelievable and impossible but that's almost a requirement in an over the top low budget action film, of which Seagal is the king.

Under Siege is usually thought of as Seagal's best or at least most successful theatrical release. He plays former Navy SEAL Casey Ryback turned Navy cook, Ryback's past is known by very few which helps to supplement the element of surprise when the ship he's serving on is taken over by Commander Krill (Gary Busey) and rogue CIA operative William Stranix (Tommy Lee Jones). Stranix plans to unload the ships nuclear warheads onto a submarine and sell them to the highest bidder, with entire crew locked up it's up to Casey Ryback to take the ship back.

Steven Seagal really shines in this role, and while Under Siege has it's moments of pure insanity it's a fun ride all the way through. Gary Busey and Tommy Lee Jones are excellent in their roles as villains and highly entertaining when they come face to face with the cool and calm Seagal. Baywatch’s Erika Eleniak is by far the most useless character in the film, she's thrown in the mix purely for a little sex appeal, but adds nothing to the film's plot. Overall, Under Siege is a must see for Seagal fans and probably one of his best mainstream films.

8/10