Genres

Visitors Review

jiraf 2013-06-16 07:56:30

Pretty good movie

I've just seen the movie again last night on TBS Superstation.When I saw the movie for the first time, I thought it was a pretty goodaction movie. Naturally, on Sept 11, I first thought about Tom Clancy'sDebtof Honor and then this movie.Last night, after Sept 11, the movie came out in a slightly differentlight.The dialogues were insightful, just like what everybody was talking aboutin this country after 9/11, especially regarding the balance between theneed to find the terrorists quickly and "bend the law, shred theconstitution a little bit".Denzel Washington was excellent. Tony Shalhoub and Annette Benning weregreat. Bruce Willis was being his regular self there.The scenes hit very close to home. The shot of the bombed FBI office bringmemory of the twin towers. I would recommend this movie to whomever isinterested in the war on terrorism we're in right now.

2013-06-15 20:54:44

Predictable Action Movie!

I have seen this movie, not a big deal! I mean the events are predictable from the start. It is like most movies. Hunt the bad guys, capture them, then kill them, the hero lasts. Nothing new or unusual about the movie in general, but it shows Arabs as Terrorists! There was no need to show some arab guys praying or citing some verses from the Holy Quran, pretending to be very Confide and defend Islam & then in another seen goes to bed with a stranger for Adultery!

2013-06-14 07:06:41

Liberal motivated rubbish !

This film disgusted me when I saw it BEFORE 9/11 and disgusts me even more now as it is an obvious "Hollywood Agenda" movie trying to push this idealistic political view of "love the enemy trying to kill you fueled by their insane views and hatred of their own existence".With Annette Bening in it , is it any surprise this is a HEAVILY BIASED view of how to handle problems in today's world by avoiding to confront them and cover our eyes and ears to harsh realities.Hopefully the real events of September 11, 2001 will prove how ignorant and misguided this film was in its presentations and viewpoints !

2013-06-13 14:33:08

bad

Have you ever watched a movie and found a character so annoying and hated them so bad that you wish you could reach through the screen, pull them out and wring their neck. That's Annette Benning in this movie. If that's the effect she wanted to achieve then more power to her but it seems that they try to make her a simpathetic figure in this movie. Sorry kids...doesn't work for me. When it comes to over the top bleeding heart liberalism she takes the cake. So does this movie. It's just nonsense. Hello all you cynics out there. Later

docmartian 2013-05-31 05:03:28

pbblllttttttt!

Some great actors in a movie that is just plain howard the duck dumb.cheers! Docafterword: i have to write ten lines in order to review this abysmalmovie.... you know like when the penguins all carried the corpse of thepenguin back to penguinland? that kind of scene would improve thisflick... I can't think of any movie that had more promise to it thatbombed quite as hard in my reality sensors. bruce willis as a two stargeneral... this movie is like reviewing something for 'jump the shark'you know it's bad... but how bad? my answer? penguinland bad.bluesbrothers2000 bad is a step up. why put my two cents in? becausethis flick is so freakin' bad that i'd rather be reviewing it thenwatching the tail end of it.... we're talking' this flick makes lethalweapon 3 look like 'ran'. i'm going to go watch some scooby-dooepisodes to raise my intelligence level after watching this flick...that's how bad it is. cia chick sleeping with a palestinian guy withterror ties and the fbi guy letting him run around free after a NUMBERof half-truths from him. i've seen 50s horror movies that are moreplausible. now... i stick by my initial review... "Some great actors ina movie that is just plain howard the duck dumb." but since IMDbrequires 10 lines here they are.

Genevieve_X 2013-05-30 17:20:29

Nothing new

I watched this film by accident on cable, having no idea what it was untilhalf way through when I bothered to pick up the TV guide. Started offinteresting enough, displaying flashes of a (far superior) Arlington Road,then unfortunately degenerating into a US/"freedom"/"we are becoming justlike them!"/"I love my country" babble fest. Interesting to note thathalfthe production team have Jewish names. On the surface you could look atthis film and say, "but its saying that racism against Arabs is bad:", butthe 'we are becoming just like them' quotes that just keep coming reallyshow where the true colours of the script writer lie. Politics aside, Ididwatch this to the end, and found most of the acting okay, (although Beningis annoying). Best part of this film is that it goes to extremes that wehaven't come to expect from Hollywood. A bus blows, then a theatre, thenaschool under siege, it's like "god, what will they blow up next?", thenthewhole city is under siege!!! One good point that I did note in one of theabove reviews was about the citizens of NYC not fighting back against thearmy, but if we can't have a little suspension of disbelief then Hollywoodwould be out of business. Overall, watch it if it is too cold or wet togoto the video library and/or you just want to stare blankly at thescreen.

2013-05-18 16:25:02

don't buy it

it's a very bad movie , don`t buy it , don`t even think about it , there is no action in this movie i can find action in playing basketball with an old man .

2013-05-18 06:28:28

Gets to your fears and keeps you engaged.

In a cross between a John Le Carre Novel, the US/Japanese citizens experience of WWII and the WTC bombing, THE SEIGE was entertaining from start to finish. Well directed and well acted, it played upon America's nationalistic pride, its ignorance of Isalm and our distrust of anyone or anything we don't understand. Bruce Willis plays a convincing General Devereaux, which surprised me because I usually only like Willis when he is the lone ranger type. Denzel Washington's "Hubbard" is a great foil and he puts in his usual stellar performance. Tony Shalhoub's portrayal as Hubbard's partner really made the movie. The lines between what we understand and what we fear stand out. I only wish he would have had even more screen time. The religious ceremony really cemented his character's values. Annette Benning had the most difficult role, but pulled it off convincingly as a CIA spook who's become so good at dis-information and twisted truths that she even surprises herself. The intimate scenes were tastefully hidden but still got the point across. The action scenes were certainly convincing. Even if you saw the trailer, you still didn't see the movie. Just my two cents.

Steve Carver 2013-05-17 11:21:58

Where are the oscars?

Intelligent, informative political thriller which should have wonoscars or at least nominations for Denzel Washington, AnnetteBenning, Tony Shaloub, Ed Zwick, Lawrence Wright and whoeverdid the music! Simply the best movie I've see in a long, long time!

John W 2013-05-17 04:38:39

o so true

It keeps you on the egde. This movie hits close to home. Heart pounding action that makes one think, what drives a terrist to that point to where killing just anyone is a must.It is quit chilling.

2013-05-14 00:17:26

A mediocre movie.

The DVD has no extras, just the movie and trailer. Two good explosions in this unlikely scenerio. Bad plot, bad morality play, lousy action. Skip this dog.

bob the moo 2013-05-13 08:05:20

Some very effective bits, some stupid bits, some average action stuff and plenty of rather muddled politics make this an average film that may well be more popular due to recent events

When the US seizes Sheik Achmed Bin Talal, it sparks a terrorist threatwhere a bus is targeted with a fake bomb. FBI anti-terrorist headAnthony Hubbard gets on the case in time to find that a second bus bombis not a hostage situation so much as a suicide statement. With themysterious Elise Kraft floating around the edges of those involved, Hubtries to keep control of the situation but a further terrorist attackon New York City brings a great deal of political pressure to react andhit back – even if the target is a network and not a country. With themilitary ready to strike anything they are told to and the Muslimcommunity keen to help however they can, tensions are simmering andready to boil, Hub tries to stop the terrorist cells before they canstrike again.I noticed this film be released in the UK in 98/99 sort of time butnever got round to seeing it despite it looking like a good actionmovie. At the time it seemed that controversy over ethnic stereotypingmay have had a hand in making it go through the cinema pretty quicklyand I know that it has never been shown on terrestrial TV in the UK –not sure why, it just hasn't.The basic plot mixes politics with a more traditional action thrillertype plot but, aside from having moments of interest in each regard, itgenerally falls down in an OK film that is muddled and simplistic. Theaction/thriller side is OK and it also throws in some very harrowingscenes of terrorism that (at the time) must have seemed impossible tomany viewers in the US (sadly in Northern Ireland we are far toofamiliar with terrorist attacks to be shocked by the aftermath of abombing in a film – we have seen it in reality for decades) but thesemoments are few are far between. Instead the standard thriller plotfails to engage because it never really gets going and has to carry somuch else at the same time.The politics side of the film is muddled at best. First of all Zwickbends over backwards in order to show the Muslim community standing upto oust terrorists in their midst and also showing New Yorkerssupporting Muslims (oh that it were that way in reality in themajority!) but then the script also seems unsure of what it is saying.On one hand it is clever and critical, with Sharon representing the1980's CIA who 'trained them to make bombs' and Devereaux representinga heavy-handed military using a broadsword for surgery but then we alsohave the problem where the film is very much 'lets get 'em' in itsapproach via the thriller route. It has moments that are interestingand insightful but generally it is all far too simplistic and neverlooks inward in the way any film that preaches balanced politics reallyshould – only a very subtle link via Sharon is a sign that the filmacknowledges it may have contributed to itself being a target is aconcession but it is one so hidden that those not keen to find it willeasily miss it. In some ways it is interesting because, despite beingrather simplistic it is still more critical than it would be were itmade today it is still rather shy in being interesting and instead justfalls into a simple thriller where 'good' Americans try to stop 'evil'extremists (although the only real reason they hate America is becausethey are 'evil') with only enough balance to prevent it being accusedof racism. Without this aspect the film struggles because it tries todo it unsuccessfully but, as with the thriller aspect, it has a fewgood moments but not enough to really keep it going. The cast try hard but none of them are really served well by thematerial at all. Washington tries to be balanced but his dialogue isclunky for the most part and it is one of his less convincingperformances and, given his recent remake of the Manchurian Candidate,I did wonder how he views this film now in hindsight. Benning is OK buther careful performance is betrayed by a 'happy' ending that takes awayeven the subtle interest she might have had. Willis is laughably bad inhis character who suddenly becomes a big powerful distator of New Yorkwithout any real reason – I wonder if, made in 2004, this film would bebrave enough to have such a criticism of the military's role infighting terrorism? Shalhoub is OK but is really a big part of the filmkeeping the Muslim community happy while the support cast ismulti-ethnic enough to stop it being too obvious in its subtext.Overall this is an average thriller and an average political film andit never really does that well on either of those fronts. The thrillerside throws up an OK story as well as some moments that are all themore shocking now that US audiences have seen how real they can be, butit isn't that good a thriller. Meanwhile the film throws in a fewsubtle criticisms (although they look obvious in today's world) but notenough to cover the rather simplistic and muddled politics it peddles.Maybe worth seeing due to its increased relevance but it is not a verygood film by any measure and is more notable for the targets it missesrather than those it hits.

2013-05-05 16:38:31

The first movie to scare me in a long time.

Although some people my say that this film is boring and slow, I think it shows how susceptible we are. This movie should be seen by all people who believe in the current system and people who believe that the military should be deployed to attack serious issues. The movie itself attacks serious issues. It shows how a country like America can be brought back to the dark ages and how you should be careful what you wish for, because you might just get it. The Acting by Bruce Willis is outstanding how he portrays a cold-blooded, power hungry general. This movie is aimed at people who have a attention span of more than 1 hour, if this is not you, then you probably will find this movie as boring and slow.

Liam 2013-05-05 14:35:45

A very good film that makes you think..

I had read the very negative reviews given to this film, and I think Iassumed they were true. However, I have just watched the Siege, and Ifoundit to be a very excellent film. It is a commentary on US and its powers.Itshows us that too much power is a problem. It shows us the consequences offreedom. Many of the scenes are powerful. Denzel Washington is excellent,Annette Bening is very good, and Bruce Willis is fine. He plays thehard-a**General better then I would have expected, but its nothing new for himreally. The big stand out here is Tony Shalhoub, who plays Denzel'spartner.He is funny and then very believable in his later scenes. He was very verygood. This is a very good that may show you how lucky we in America are. 8out of 10.

pike145 2013-05-05 13:06:02

downright pitiful

I must say that this movie was down right bad no worse, It wasdisgusting! I found it racial and disturbing. It transforms one goodactor Bruce Willis: Die Hard, and many other awesome actors into savageracists! I feel the director hated Muslims with a passion so he took itamong himself to create such a horrible movie! Seriously I find him aswell as the siege disgusting! In my books this movie is awful All thismovie will do is spark attention and anger somebody will probably makea movie only this time the Jews or Christians will be the bad monsters.Its a vicious circle that will go on and on and the best way to spreadit would be through movies. I say ban the siege and any other nonsenselike it with a different name from the big screen and put on shows thatare worth watching!

digaum 2013-05-05 07:22:35

Prediction of 9/11

Considering the fact that this movie was written by Middle East expertLawrence Wright (who later won a Puliter Prize for his work "TheLooming Tower"), it can be considered a prediction to what happened inSeptember 11, 2001. It was a warning of what could happen and nobodylistened. Just like the book, this movie described the problem of thelack of cooperation between FBI and CIA. And I don't consider this"lame", I consider it the truth (otherwise WTC would still exist). Themovie anticipated the conditions of post-9/11 America: the loss ofcivil liberties and torture as a response to terrorism (caused by thePatriot Act), the inability to identify quickly or easily enough thoseengaged in terrorism on USA. Predicting the future, this is what thismovie really is about...

Khalid 2013-04-20 02:32:15

An interesting, thrilling and subtle movie - Go see!

The Siege is a film that, I believe, has been misunderstood and underrated.Much criticism has been levelled at the movie by Arab and Islamic groups,due to its allegedly offensive portrayal of Arabs as Islamicfundamentalists. Particular attention is directed to the events which occurwhen martial law is declared: the army, led by General William Devereaux(Willis) take control of Brooklyn and lock up all young Arabs who fit thepotential profile of the terrorist attackers.This event, however, is shown to be wrong and a clear subversion of humanrights. The film is especially engaging because of the manner in which it isclearly based on a number of real-life events - from the bombing of the USArmy base at Dhahran which opens the movie, to the alleged terroristnetworks run by Osama bin Laden, to the role of covert US activities increating and perpetuating terrorism.Washington's character, FBI Agent Anthony Hubbard, considers himself to be aforce for universal good. However, nothing in this film is clear-cut: whilehe criticises the army's activities for their infringements on personalfreedoms, we realise that his own investigation is also likely to lead toinfringements, albeit of a less visible and painful degree.Not only is this movie interesting and thought-provoking for anyone with aninterest in the issues it raises, it is also superbly acted by all involved,and well paced and executed by director Zwick.On the whole: a film that raises interesting questions, gives some fairlyclear answers, but leaves many smaller issues open for the audience to thinkabout and consider on their own. Rating: 9 out of 10.

2013-04-19 14:49:50

life imitates art

I haven't seen this movie, but given the recent attack on the world trade center, it may be something everyone should watch

HLMENCKEN 2013-04-17 19:07:32

Fantasy

SPOILERSThis movie is propaganda film making at its finest, which doesn't make it agood movie. It advances the predictable Hollywood notion that the CIA isresponsible for terrorism occurring on our shores, and that the US militarywould strip us of all liberties if given a chance. (Actually, only certaintypes of people are rounded up and put in soccer stadiums as though theywere Chileans supporting Allende back in the 1970s.) The movie features afew terrorist cells bringing their brand of evil to New York City only asthe result of the actions of some rogue agents in our own intelligencesector plus the military. Many have discussed how prescient the film makerswere in showing terrorism coming to America a few years before it did. Well,there have been a few (hundred) other movies that depict the same theory,going back as far as Black Sunday in the late 70s. In terms of action, thereare some interesting technical points about the movie such as the busexplosion. And there are a few attempts at irony with perhaps the best beingthe last terrorist planning to blow up protesters who are complaining aboutthe police state actions of the military attempting to keep the streets safeof terror. The ending (a shootout in a Turkish bath! followed by theDenzel-Bruce Willis showdown) is ridiculous. The bottom line is that thegood old USA is at fault for the terrorism because we left these people highand dry by not taking out Saddam during the Gulf War. This film is highlyrecommended for Blame America Firsters who like to mix in a bit of violencewith their outrage.

2013-04-17 13:09:48

In light of recent events...

In light of the recent events in New York and Washington D.C. this film has a renewed relevance. I rented "Siege" back when it first came out on video and my attitude was probably like that of many... "Good movie. Well made. But it would never happen." Certainly, we'd never become so crazed as a nation that we'd start putting Arab-Americans in internment camps and declare martial law... Certainly THAT would never happen...In light of recent events, I'm not so sure.Watch this movie. Draw your own conclusions. Before yesterday (September 11, 2001) I never would have believed that domestic bombings on American soil could drive us to the point of nationwide panic and outrage. Again, watch this movie. Pray that it remains a Hollywood interpretation of fictitious events and not an understatement of things to come.