I've
always loved director Ed Zwick's films. The Civil War drama Glory is one of my
all time favorite pictures. Legends of the Fall and Courage Under Fire were also
beautiful pieces of work. Enter The Siege, the third collaboration between Zwick
and actor Denzel Washington.
In
The Siege, several terrorist acts transpire in New York City forcing F.B.I. agent
Washington to take action. Bruce Willis is a blow-hard Army officer who is ordered
by the President to identify and eliminate the terrorists. The film has come under
attack for it's depiction of the Arabic community, which is absolutely ridiculous.
The point of the movie is obvious - the real enemy is us. Zwick and his screenwriters
actually go out of their way to make this apparent. Even one of the films heroes,
played by Tony Shalhoub from TV's Wings, is Arabic. In fact, he's really the best
part of the film.
Unfortunately
the movie reached a point where I didn't buy into what was happening. It never
felt real or threatening. It is also predictable and full of cliches. Washington
is solid as always, but not enough to overpower the bogged-down screenplay. Annette
Bening is also along for the ride and I was surprised by how annoying her character
was. Willis is completely forgettable in an extremely underwritten role.
Zwick
has done a good job putting the film together. It looks sharp, but doesn't add
up to much. In the end The Siege isn't a really bad movie, but it is a far cry
from the director's earlier films.
