Under Siege Details

After a string of routine action thrillers, Steven Seagal hit the jackpot with this slick nautical spin on the Die Hard concept. Portraying possibly the unlikeliest cook in the history of cinema, Seagal is the US navy's only hope when a crack squad of terrorists, led by Tommy Lee Jones, hijacks his ship. Seagal lacks natural charisma, but at least he's marginally less wooden than the likes of Chuck Norris, and a flamboyant performance from Jones, plus some sterling work from fellow baddies Gary Busey and Colm Meaney, more than compensate for his deficiencies. Former Baywatch babe Erika Eleniak has little to do but pop out of a cake and scream a lot, but provides the requisite slice of glamour. Like Seagal, director Andrew Davis earned his spurs with mainly straight-to-video fodder, but here he never misses a beat and stages some awesome set pieces.

Often risible, always predictable action movie in which one man conquers all, and consisting of a succession of slickly done martial arts combats and gun battles. For diehard fans of the star, or fans of Die Hard.