Blu-ray Specs
Video: 1080p
Audio: English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio / French and Spanish 5.1 Dolby Digital
This film was made well before the attacks on the US in 2001; however is an eerie foretelling of what could have been the case as far as the aftermath was concerned. Oddly enough, when this film was released back in 1998, it was a box office failure due to protests by Islamic groups, but then was the #1 rented movie after 9/11. Denzel Washington stars as a FBI agent with a rather difficult task to complete. Alongside this acclaimed actor, the lineup consists of some of Hollywood’s finest including Annette Bening, Tony Shalhoub and action star Bruce Willis.
With the attacks on the Military barracks in the Middle East, President Clinton vows to not let the responsible parties go unpunished. A military unit seeks out the culprits and abducts the leader of the guilty faction. After this unlawful kidnapping of sorts, cells of terrorists gear up to seek revenge for the lost leader. Meanwhile, back in NYC, FBI agents, Anthony Hubbard (Denzel) and Frank Haddad (Shalhoub) are out to negotiate what seems to be a couple of hostage situations. When things go terribly wrong and innocent people are killed in a bus bombing, the team is out to find the suspects involved. Along the way they intertwine with a CIA agent Elise Kraft (Bening) whom is very elusive and sympathetic to the Islamic cause. After another bombing attempt is made on a school, things seem to get deeply twisted in whom to go after. The final nail in the coffin is pounded in when a terrorist hits the Federal Building in downtown NYC. With that act, the President and Cabinet decide to declare Martial Law to deal with this threat, and who else would be at the helm but General William Devereaux (Willis). The military hits the ground and herds groups of Arabs into concentration camps in order to weed out the remaining terrorists, but the FBI thinks this is going way too far and continues to work as they best can. How things go from there is a matter of who makes the smart choices.
If you are looking for anything special to grab your attention in the way of extras, well you will fall flat, as there are only trailers for other movies coming out on Blu-ray.
Being best suited for big action and explosion sequences, The Siege doesn’t disappoint with the induction of the Blu-ray experience. I would label the sections as spectacular in vision and surround sound alike. If it were any more real, I would have been blown up in a bus bombing. Well let’s hope not.
Denzel seems to have this type of role pegged in essence and Tony Shalhoub was a delight to see him in a serious role as opposed to his series Monk or if you go way back to Wings. He has all the ability to play the dramatic roles and should go out for them more. As it goes for this film, what a way to drive fear and a bit of morality into the audience than to show how things could go if we as a country let them.
Reviewed by Michael Albaugh
