Under Siege 2: Dark Territory

A fairly disappointing follow-up, Under Siege 2: Dark Territory follows Steven Seagal’s Casey Ryback as he’s forced to once again spring into action after armed terrorists commandeer a passenger train. Filmmaker Geoff Murphy, working from Richard Hatem and Matt Reeves’ script, delivers a slow-moving first half that contains few elements designed to capture and sustain the viewer’s interest, with the hands-off atmosphere perpetuated by a series of often distractingly ineffective performances. (Seagal’s depressingly muted presence here, which stands in sharp contrast to his charismatic work in the original film, is matched by a less-than-enthralling supporting cast, with Eric Bogosian’s entirely ineffective bad-guy turn certainly the most obvious and pronounced weak spot within the lackluster proceedings.) The almost total absence of action in the picture’s fairly tedious first half certainly does nothing to alleviate the far-from-captivating vibe, and it’s clear, too, that Under Siege 2: Dark Territory suffers from a pervasively low-rent feel that remains a distraction throughout (eg the special effects, especially, are unconvincing and chintzy, to say the least). The climax is accordingly unable to even remotely pack the visceral punch that Murphy has intended, with the end result a pretty pronounced failure that undoubtedly makes the erratic first movie look so, so much better by comparison.

** out of ****