Under Seige

Most action movies are so bad that I become grateful for one that makes at least a nod toward believability. The whole premise is preposterous, naturally, but that needn’t stop me enjoying it, if the hero uses his head instead of just his muscles. Unexpectedly, this one does okay in that regard. Some seriously screwy people hijack the USS Missouri on its way to permanent berthing in Pearl Harbor, and soon we’re in a nightmare scenario and only one man (and a plucky girl) standing between Honolulu and nuclear destruction by cruise missile. He’s a smart-ass cook who used to be a Navy Seal. Most of it was shot aboard the USS Alabama, a ship I have visited at its dock in Mobile. That, I think, is a big part of why it works. It’s a magnificent ship. Tommy Lee Jones should get some sort of special award for outrageous overacting as the head bad guy. Steven Seagal rates a special notice for acting at all. One doesn’t expect it of him. And Erika Eleniak rates praise for being a good sport about it all, and having a world-class set of cruise missiles.