The Tom's Guide Verdict: 'The Siege'
Rating: 2.5/5 stars
Verdict: "The Siege" bears the technical hallmarks of Edward Zwick's action filmmaking: well-designed set pieces with enthralling moments of violence. But the pacing drags at times, the story gets too fantastical and the performances are uneven. That said, its portrayal of a police state in the U.S. is remarkably prescient 25 years after the September 11 attacks.
Where to watch: Buy or rent "The Siege" on Prime Video
This might be the most controversial movie of my year-long Denzel Watchathon since 1990's "Heart Condition." It centers around an unnamed group of Islamist terrorist cells that attack New York, until the President of the U.S. (also unnamed, but implied to be Bill Clinton) declares martial law. That puts FBI Special Agent Anthony Hubbard (Denzel Washington) in the crosshairs of Major General William Devereaux (Bruce Willis), as they have very different methods in mind for stopping these terror attacks.
This movie was, to put it bluntly, not well-received in 1998. Critics largely panned it; it holds a mere 44% on Rotten Tomatoes, though if you dive into the reviews, there's more nuance there than that number belies.
Many complaints come down to the script, which I'll freely admit, isn't this movie's strong suit. Director/co-writer Edward Zwick manages to deliver visual spectacle once again, as he did in his previous two collaborations with Denzel ("Glory" and "Courage Under Fire"). But the performances are far weaker, with Willis lacking any gravitas as General Devereaux and Annette Bening giving a surprisingly over-the-top performance.
The script does give her cover for some of the more egregious moments. There's one point where I assumed she was just playing "bad cop" to Denzel's "good cop" because she gets so overly dramatic, and moments later, you learn that's the case. But even plot armor can't excuse the entire performance.
However, it's important to note that this movie came out in 1998. That's before the attacks of September 11. While terrorist attacks had occurred in the decade leading up to this movie, by Islamists and white supremacists alike, the heightened surveillance by the U.S. government that would come after 9/11 — the Patriot Act, enhanced interrogation, etc. — simply hadn't happened yet.
Incredibly, though, this movie does comprehend those possibilities, whether intentionally or a case of art unintentionally foreshadowing things to come. In fact, in a 2006 interview with the site Mother Jones, a Guantanamo Bay detainee named Yunis Abdurrahman Shokuri directly compared the experience of his imprisonment to the U.S. Army's summary internment of all Arab-Americans in "The Siege."
If you want to watch this movie before you read on, I'm afraid I have some bad news. Like with many of Denzel's earlier films, "The Siege" isn't currently streaming on any of the best streaming services or the best free streaming services. Instead, you'll need to buy or rent it from Amazon or the digital storefront of your choice.
The police state of 'The Siege' isn't far fetched 28 years later
Read more Denzel Watchathon
Here are the other Denzel Washington movies I've covered so far in our Denzel Watchathon:
- "Carbon Copy" (1981)
- "A Soldier's Story" (1984)
- "Power" (1986)
- "Cry Freedom" (1987)
- "For Queen and Country" (1988)
- "The Mighty Quinn" (1989)
- "Glory" (1989)
- "Heart Condition" (1990)
- "Mo' Better Blues" (1990)
- "Mississippi Masala" (1991)
- "Ricochet" (1992)
- "Malcolm X" (1992)
- "Much Ado About Nothing" (1993)
- "The Pelican Brief" (1993)
- "Philadelphia" (1993)
- "Crimson Tide" (1995)
- "Virtuosity" (1995)
- "Devil in a Blue Dress" (1995)
- "Courage Under Fire" (1996)
- "The Preacher's Wife" (1996)
- "Fallen" (1998)
- "He Got Game" (1998)
As I already mentioned, "The Siege" portrays a New York under threat. First, it's under threat from terrorists, then it's under threat from its own government ... though also, still terrorists. The portrayal of this world isn't always seamless. The Arab-Americans of this version of New York aren't monoliths; Special Agent Hubbard's (Washington) partner is a Lebanese-American portrayed by Tony Shalhoub. He's not just a law-abiding citizen. He is the law.
But it's inarguable that the Islamist extremists in this film are a bit stereotypical, bordering on caricature at times. There's a brief attempt at the end of the film to dive into the nuances of American operations in the Middle East as a cause of radicalization, but not much more than that.
What this film gets right, though, is how we, as Americans, are also the villains in this story. Specifically, the American government, though there are some less-than-shining moments from members of the public as well.
At the time, viewers couldn't have known, but now, decades later, we've seen forms of martial law enacted as soldiers flood the streets on numerous occasions. I remember living in DC after January 6 and seeing Humvees and soldiers patrolling the streets. We've seen the surveillance state illegally wiretap and spy on civilians. Sure, a U.S. General has never essentially locked down an urban center and tossed aside the Constitution, but there are many elements of this movie we've seen play out in real-life in the years since.
There are two in mind that stick out the most. The first is when Frank (Shaloub) comes to Hubbard, telling him the Army has rounded up his son and put him in a detention camp just for being Muslim. If that sounds a lot like Hispanics being rounded up by ICE regardless of immigration status, it should.
The other is when a suspected member of a terror cell is brought in by the Army. Denzel, as Hubbard, arrives on the scene to find the man strapped to a chair, naked, with a CIA agent next to him and the Army debating which enhanced interrogation technique to use on him. They even specifically highlight water (waterboarding) as particularly effective. For those of us who've lived through the War on Terror, those plot points could have been ripped from the headlines in just a few years.
Verdict: There are better Denzel-led Ed Zwick movies out there
"The Siege" is not subtle. Nor should we pretend that Zwick is some descendant of Nostradamus. Just because things have gotten worse in terms of surveillance and illegal acts by U.S. military and intelligence operations, doesn't mean they weren't happening before. But watching it, you can't deny that it's as prescient as it's ever been.
That said, is that justification enough to watch the movie? Well, no. Not unless you've got a lot of time on your hands or are doing a Denzel Watchathon of your own. There are better action thrillers, there are better Denzel movies. There are better action thrillers starring Denzel. There are even better movies centered around the aftermath of the Persian Gulf War, directed by Edward Zwick and starring Denzel Washington (see: "Courage Under Fire").
And ultimately, that's the biggest reason you can probably skip this movie. In fact, "The Siege" might be Washington's and Zwick's worst collaboration. So despite its relevance being at an all-time high, I don't know that you should pay to see it. Wait for it to hit a streaming service at some point in the future.
Buy or rent "The Siege" on Prime Video now
