Simply Perfect

Good start, but then it gets ruined

Crappy film

what a terribly boring film. I'm sorry but this is absolutely not deserving of best picture and will be forgotten quickly. Entertaining and engaging cinema? No. Nothing performances with flat faces and mistaking silence for subtlety.

While watching this film for the second time about a week or so ago, the first thought that came to my mind was "Wow, this is exactly the kind of political/dramatic intrigue that the TV series '24' tries to accomplish each and every episode". A weaving of action, political subject matter, and gut-wrenching emotional moments puts "The Siege" up towards the top of my list (just below "A Few Good Men") of politically-based thrillers.The basic plot of the film centers on a terrorist cell that launches a series of attacks based in New York City. Denzel Washington plays a government agent given the task of coordinating the effort to subdue the terrorism, while Bruce Willis is the military general brought onto the scene when the situation begins spiraling out of control. It is rather remarkable that this film was actually made BEFORE 9/11, as it deals with some of the exact same subject matter, including the reaction to terrorism, internment camps (this time for Muslim-Americans), and the ideological clash between the Eastern and Western world.Acting-wise, Washington is at his brooding, intense best throughout the entire movie, culminating with his "bend the law, shred the constitution" speech when dealing with the issue of torture. Willis' military character is actually sorely underutilized, yet provides the perfect antithesis (but not antagonist) to Washington. Annette Bening is the other primary lead character, and she also gives a competent (if not over-the-top at times) performance.About the only reason I give this film four stars instead of five is because, although it is compelling, it falls well short of the mark now set by "24" which provides just as much political drama/action in a arc of episodes as this movie does in its entire runtime (although that is more of an affirmation of 24's genius than this film's shortcomings). If you are a fan of political films that will really make you think, you will heartily enjoy the entire experience. Plus, it could be your stepping-stone to an entirely new saga of political drama..."24".

Five years after the first World Trade Center bombing in 1993, this film came out ... supposing what would happen if radical Islamic terror became so frequent in New York City that the U.S. government would declare martial law there. Included in that scenario was the detention of Muslims in New York City ... along the same lines as the detention of persons of Japanese ancestry (including U.S. citizens) during World War II. Not so strangely, this movie and others along the same lines (ie., 1994's "True Lies") drew heavy criticism from the U.S. Muslim community for portraying the religion, as a whole, in a bad light. This criticism became so forceful as to make Hollywood "re-think" such movies. Example? The Tom Clancy novel, "The Sum of All Fears," dealt with Islamic terrorists. But when Hollywood got their hands on it in 2002, the Islamic terrorists were re-cast as Neo-Nazi terrorists for the movie."The Siege," however (major spoiler alert), had one component that infuriated the Muslim community ... namely the character Samir who, at first, was painted as a peaceful mainstream Muslim - but who later turned out to be the last member of his own domestic terror cell who, in theory, was granting student visas to other Muslims who were entering this country (only to become terrorists themselves). In short, Samir was the one kind of person that scares a lot of mainstream Muslims and all other persons, regardless of their religion -- a person who feigns the role of a moderate Muslim but, in reality, is a domestic terrorist.Just a personal historic tidbit. On S.E. Clinton Street in Portland, Oregon, there's a small mom & pop style grocery store that has been around for many years. But back during the early years of World War II, it was owned and operated by a Japanese-American family (Mr. Funitake, his wife, and their teenage son). My mother went to high school with the son. When the detention of persons with Japanese ancestry took place, government officials rounded up the Funitake family. Initially, they were scheduled to be detained in an internment facility with others of Japanese ancestry. But when these officials inspected the store (a store on the bottom floor with their living quarters on the 2nd floor), they found Japanese military documents, shortwave radio equipment, and an extensive collection of shipping manifest data - detailing all shipping into and out of the Port of Portland. In short, the Funitake family (at least Mr. & Mrs. Funitake) were Japanese spies.While this doesn't excuse the wholesale internment of persons of Japanese ancestry during World War II, it does point out an equally painful fact ... that sometimes, the government hit "paydirt." And in this film, Samir is an example of that paydirt ... normally innocent-looking people who are in the United States with "ulterior motives" detrimental to the health/life of mainstream Americans of all origins/faiths. On top of that, you have to remember one of Samir's last comments ... that his terror cell was not the "last" terror cell.So, all this leaves people in an ethical quandary. On one hand, you have the American mindset that tells you internment of people based on ethnic origins and/or religion is wrong. But on the other hand, you have to ask yourselves how many lives have been spared by "finding" this paydirt. Which is the "greater good?" Surely, the Funitake family wasn't alone - that there were other Japanese spies on U.S. soil during WWII. And just as surely, peaceful appearances among our nation's Muslims can be deceiving - at least sometimes. It's a tough nut to crack and, hopefully, our nation will figure out "how" to crack it without too much collateral damage.Denzel Washington, Annette Bening, and Bruce Willis played their roles in a spectacular manner. But kudos goes out to Sami Bouajila (Samir) for his portrayal of the person "believed" to be peaceful who turned out to be a domestic terrorist. And special kudos go out to Tony Shalhoub who played Denzel Washington's FBI partner (of Middle-Eastern descent) ... whose own son becomes a victim of the detention. This would be a tough topic for any movie to handle in today's world ... but it was handled well in this pre-911 film.

The Siege (1998): Dir: Edward Zwick / Cast: Denzel Washington, Annette Bening, Bruce Willis, Tony Shalhoub, Aasif Mandvi: Action film not so much about the tragedy at hand but about the siege of the victims. After a series of terrorist bombings in New York, an F.B.I. Agent, played by Denzel Washington investigates. He arrests a mysterious agent played by Annette Bening who may or may not be helping the guilty. Soon a General moves his troops in and orders that all Arab Americans be fenced in and individually tortured for information. This angers Washington's partner played by Tony Shalhoub whose own son is mistreated. Interesting setup deteriorates into a series of recycled scenes that seem to have materialized from other films. Directed by Edward Zwick who previously worked with Washington in Courage Under Fire, where he delivers another great performance. Zwick is effective at presenting action but his cast are mostly at odds with the material. Washington holds his own but Bening steals the film in her rebellion. The big disappointment is Bruce Willis as the General who is hardly convincing. He barks orders and looks intimidating while reminding viewers that he was even worse in Armageddon the same year. Shalhoub fares well as Washington's partner. The big payoff will seize mainly action lovers. Score: 5 ½ / 10

I understood at first this movie bombed, it was an improbability that the United States would be attacked with all its security measures to protect the population...In this post 9/11 era, now it sounds eerie and terrifying...The FBI and the Army clashed on how to stop multiple attacks done by some terrorist cells, Muslim-related, all due to some secret black-ops by the CIA, and backed blindly by an Army General...Good acting by Denzel Washington, Tony Schaloub mostly. Annette Bening does a good job as the confused CIA agent and we would never knew Bruce Willis, in his turn as tough-as-nails General Devereaux, would be as well turn up to be a bad guy in a democracy turned into martial law and send thousands of innocent Arab citizens just to find some dangerous terrorists...Good movie to make you think... And was shot less than 4 years before the Twin Towers fell down... Of course, they're there on this movie...