Under Siege 2: Dark Territory

_One-man army on a train in the Colorado Rockies with Steven Seagal_ On a train trip through the Rockies with his niece (Katherine Heigl), Casey Ryback (Steven Seagal) has to take on a band of ruthless terrorists who are using the train for a mobile headquarters as they hijack a destructive satellite weapon created by the head terrorist (Eric Bogosian). Everett McGill plays the lead heavy, looking like an evil Race Bannon. “Under Siege 2: Dark Territory” (1995) is a worthy follow-up to the 1992 film; it may not be as good story-wise, but it has superior locations due to it taking place on a train traveling through the mountains as opposed to the more one-dimensional ship at sea. If you’re in the mood for a train flick that’s streamlined and filled with action you can’t go wrong. Sure, the action is sometimes implausible, but it helps if you view Ryback (Seagal) as a superhero without the gaudy costume in the manner of John McClane, Rambo or James Bond. Comparing it to train thrillers, it’s not great like “Runaway Train” (1985), but it’s about on par with the horrific “Train” (2008), the Western “Breakheart Pass” (1975) and the realistic “Unstoppable” (2010). Other than Heigl, the lovely Sandra Taylor and Brenda Bakke are featured on the feminine front. The movie runs 1 hour, 40 minutes, and was shot mostly in the Colorado Rockies. GRADE: B

This might have been a little better had there not been the irritatingly hammy efforts throughout from Eric Bogosian as the tech wizard "Dane". He has managed to assemble a gang of cut-throat mercenaries under the command of "Penn" (Everett McGill) to commandeer a train that is carrying the communications equipment that can control a deadly satellite. After some quick threatening of the passengers, he has the operating codes and is demanding $1bn from the US government. What he hasn't counted on are the ninja skills of train porter "Bobby" (Morris Chestnut) - oh, and of former SEAL "Ryback" (Steven Seagal) who just happens to be on the train with his niece "Sarah" (Katherine Heigl). With the odds stacked heavily against them, these two have to work together if they are to thwart the cunning plans of their antagonist before he decimates Washington DC. It's a decently enough paced action thriller with loads of combat but little by way of characterisation or dialogue that's worth listening to. Trains tend to work quite well as the venues for hostage thrillers and this one goes some way to keep the action flowing before the ending we all know is coming. Not as good as the first one, but it's not awful.