The Siege (1998)

Starring: Denzel Washington, Bruce Willis, Annette Bening, Tony Shalhoub, Aasif Mandvi, Lance Reddick, and Wood Harris
Grade: B-

Despite the film being about the “siege” of New York, it doesn’t happen until much later in the movie and doesn’t go on for that long. For this reason alone, my grade went from “B” to “B-“.

Summary

To open, there are numerous news reports of terrorism in the Middle East. The suspected person behind some recent bombings is the Iraqi terrorist Sheik Akhmed Bin Talal (Ahmed Ben Larby). It’s gotten to the point that President Bill Clinton is shown saying whoever is involved needs to be punished. Next, we see the Sheikh being driven in a Mercedes in the desert. Unbeknownst to him, he’s being tracked by U.S. government agents. They stop his car with a bunch of goats crossing, kill everyone in the car, and put the alive Sheikh into custody. As he sits in his cell, U.S. Army General Bill Devereaux (Willis) stares at him with a smug look on his face.

This is key, as Bruce Willis keeps this same expression throughout The Siege. He’s very good at it.

In New York City, FBI Assistant Special Agent in Charge Anthony Hubbard (Washington) is told by his Lebanese American partner Frank Haddad (Shalhoub) about their newest mission. They have to stop a guy who hijacked a bus full of passengers. Additionally, the bus contains a bomb. As Hubbard and Haddad drive over to the scene, the “explosion” happens. However, it turns out that the bus’s bomb was actually an explosion of blue paint, covering the passengers but killing no one. The terrorists got away though. Back at the office, Hubbard and his crew listen to a voice recording of the bombers, who pass off this whole thing as a warning. They want their demands to be met. However, everyone is confused by this because they didn’t say what their demands even are. Hubbard starts brainstorming with his team on what they know and what the next step should be. As he starts pointing each member of his team in a different direction, Haddad makes a point that these “terrorists” technically haven’t committed a crime, calling it assault with a “deadly color”. This eases the tension and Hubbard smiles. Even so, he’s worried that these unseen villains know their response time in the face of danger. Just then, they receive an unknown fax with the message, “RELEASE HIM”, further confusing everyone. Immediately following this, they get a phone call someone is flashing a government badge at the warehouse where they are looking at the bus, and the guys there want to know if the FBI is cooperating with any other agencies on the case. Since they’re not, Hubbard goes to the warehouse to see who this person is.

Outside of the warehouse, Hubbard meets with FBI Agent Floyd Rose (Reddick), and he talks about the woman and how her style seems very CIA-like. The two walk in and Floyd points Hubbard in the direction of Elise Kraft (Benning). Elise introduces herself as a member of the National Security Council, but Hubbard can see through this. Though she’s nice, she doesn’t give Hubbard any information on who she’s working directly under and what her reasoning for being there is. Pointing out that she’s under direct violation of federal law because the CIA has no charter to operate domestically, Hubbard has a couple of agents escort her out and has Floyd pin a tail on her when she leaves. At the office, Hubbard looks through some pictures and a file on Elise. Haddad interrupts to bring him to Immigration. There, they have detained Khalil Saleh (Mandvi), a guy with a suitcase containing almost $10,000 under a false bottom. Technically, he’s safe because it’s $20 under the legal limit, but Haddad throws a $20 into the suitcase. It’s hard to tell if he was joking about it or not, but it leads to the officials to interrogate Saleh. Though the whole thing looks suspicious, Hubbard says to let him go so they can tail him. Hubbard and Haddad go in their car, as Hubbard shouts instructions to his other agents via walkie-talkie. They see Saleh walking on the sidewalk with a suitcase, talking to some guy, and continuing walking through a public area. As Hubbard starts his call to the judge to get a warrant, one of Hubbard’s agents walks on the parallel sidewalk and makes eye contact with Saleh. Saleh “makes him”, drops the suitcase in the middle of a crowded area, and starts running. Hubbard and Haddad chase Saleh, and it turns into a foot race. Saleh is able to escape the two but is forced into a moving red van by unknown people, and Hubbard nor Haddad were able to get the license plate.

Later, they find the van abandoned but the plates are fake. Thankfully, the agent that blew the surveillance mission still got a picture of the guy Saleh was talking to on the street. Right after, Floyd calls Hubbard to come to some house because Elise was spotted there. Hubbard, Haddad, Floyd, and the rest of the crew storm the house and put Elise’s team in custody. In the basement, Elise is questioning a beaten-up Saleh, so Hubbard puts a stop to all of this. When Elise points out how his team fucked up the surveillance and how Saleh could have led to capturing his “friends”, Hubbard realizes Elise knows something. When he questions her further and she avoids answering, he arrests her too. She rides in Hubbard’s backseat as they head back to the office. While dodging every important question Hubbard has for her like if there’s a terrorist cell in the city that they’re unaware of, she explains how she went to college in Beirut and guesses Haddad’s religious ties. Both men are then interrupted by phone calls that send them directly to another bus bombing situation. On a crowded street, there are three armed men in a bus with civilians, but there has been no communication of any kind. As Hubbard starts planning out a strategy and directing people into different directions, he is told by a cop (Harris) that there are six children on the bus as well. When Hubbard tells an agent to take Elise away from the perimeter, she tries to plead with him about the severity of the situation. She even admits to him there is a terrorist cell in Brooklyn, and the paint bomb was indeed a warning. Hubbard seems confident until Elise raises a good point: they haven’t said anything about their demands. Regardless, Hubbard goes and acts as a negotiator because the guy is late.

Dude has one job. Are you kidding me?

This is when Elise notices the news crews showing up, and she implores Hubbard to use his snipers and kill the bad guys now because they aren’t here to negotiate. They just wanted the world to see what they are about to do. Nonetheless, Hubbard goes through with the negotiation and has Haddad translate every word. He is able to negotiate to get the children off the bus. Next, he suggests he take the spot of the hostages instead. When he doesn’t get a response, he changes it to ask for the old people to be let go next. At first it works, as we see the door open and some old people getting off. Sadly, within seconds, the bus explodes, killing everyone inside (more than 25 people). The shockwave from the explosion injures many more, including Hubbard. It’s the worst terrorist bombing in the United States since the Oklahoma City bombing five years prior, and Hubbard is at the forefront of it. Back at the office, a distressed Hubbard heads up a meeting and tells everyone they are upping the ante tenfold on taking down these terrorists. A furious Hubbard says he wants results and wants them to do whatever it takes to stop these terrorists, working himself up to the point where blood starts coming out of his nose from his sustained injuries. With Haddad alongside him, Hubbard heads straight to interrogation after the meeting to question Saleh about the money he had. Cowering in fear, Saleh swears he doesn’t know what’s going on. He does admit his cousin introduced him to a man who promised him $200 for his dowry if he took the suitcase to that address in Brooklyn earlier. They pass him off as a mule and continue their search.

Eventually, they get a fingerprint match for Mossad agent Ali Waziri who is identified as one of the bombers of the bus. Hubbard reveals this at the next meeting. The next step is finding out all the information they can from his arrival in the U.S. to the time of the bombing. An interesting point that an agent brings up is the fact that Waziri was on the terrorist watch list which begs the question, “How in the absolute fuck did he get into the country?”.

They find out about his student visa, but Hubbard wants the original copy. After discovering Egyptian cotton from the wreckage (a material worn for funerals), Hubbard goes to see Elise in her holding cell and their conversation is a lot less contentious, so Hubbard decides to take her out for dinner to discuss the current case and to find out what he doesn’t know. At dinner, Elise explains that the funeral shroud found in the wreckage is the final step in the ritual of self-purification, but he knows all this and tells her to cut to the chase. This is where she admits they identified a man in March that they believed was responsible for a bombing of an army barracks a year prior. In August, he was extracted from Lebanon by religious leader Sheik Akhmed Bin Talal himself. Since the government was involved in the kidnapping, Hubbard questions why the FBI wasn’t told, but Tala is still being debriefed which is why they haven’t gone public with the charges. Before they can get deeper, Haddad interrupts to tell him they identified the position of the guy who was talking to Saleh. The person is Samir Nazhde (Sami Bouajila), a guy who teaches Arab studies at Brooklyn College. He sponsored Ali Waziri’s student visa. Plus, his brother blew up a movie theater in Tel Aviv. Elise argues they should let him go so he can lead them to someone bigger, but Hubbard makes the order to move in. They detain the guy as soon as he gets out of the restaurant he was in, and he’s put in the backseat with Elise and Haddad, with Haddad bringing up Samir’s ties to Waziri. He denies actually knowing him and how he’s signed hundreds of applications of student visas just because so many people want to come to America. Haddad counters by saying Samir spent two years in Israeli jails during the intifada, but Samir says that the only ones who didn’t were “women” like Haddad, prompting Haddad to strike him hard. He says Samir has defrauded the I.N.S., and he will be brought in for questioning.

At the office, Hubbard tells Haddad privately that if he ever hits a prisoner again, he will fire him. Haddad mentions what Samir’s people did to his village in 1975 and though he agrees, he wants him to make sure it won’t happen again. Next, he tells Haddad to call I.N.S. to get Samir deported, but Elise tells him he can’t because they need Samir to help them get inside the terrorist cell because he’s so well-connected. Plus, she’s sort of his case officer, as she’s been working with him. Because of this, she’s the only person he’ll deal with. Since it’s very hard to have an in with groups like Hamas and such and Hubbard and Haddad acknowledge this, Hubbard is open to the idea of letting him go so Elise can work with him. Of course, they have to work together, with Hubbard tracking him discreetly while Elise works with him publicly. This way Samir will think he’s still working with her alone. However, Hubbard wants results and information of any kind. They compromise officially and Hubbard lets Samir go. Later that night, we learn Elise is dating Samir, and they’re hanging out at Samir’s place. After having sex, Samir talks about how his brother died for Allah in a suicide bombing and how he’s still affected by it. Elise talks about how the other Palestinians are using him, but he claims she is using him too. Then, they talk about how she reports on their conversations. When asked about them fucking, she slyly says she had to get “special permission” for it. From afar, they are spotted by Hubbard and Haddad who observe the whole thing during a stakeout.

The next morning, the plot thickens. Bill Devereaux awaits Hubbard in his office and tells him he doesn’t want the army to get involved and they support the FBI’s efforts. When Hubbard asks about the Sheik, Devereaux says he’s old news, though Hubbard points out how they’ve received two communications from the bombers asking for his release. Devereaux reveals they never actually captured the Sheik, and the latest intel says he’s dead. When Hubbard counters that the CIA and Elise think otherwise, Devereaux basically says Elise doesn’t know what the hell she’s talking about and neither does the CIA. Immediately after, Elise walks into the room and Devereaux greets her. Though she’s shocked by Deveraux’s presence, she tells Hubbard the landlord tip they have is solid, so they await a warrant to storm an apartment.

Despite some initial success after this mission and Hubbard’s best efforts (as well as the FBI’s), the threat of terrorism becomes much larger than what he can handle in a timely fashion. It doesn’t help that the people he’s working with, as well as the other government sects, don’t seem to be working towards the same goal. Of course, this leads to the eventual “Siege” of the city and Devereaux becomes as big of a problem as the terrorists are.

My Thoughts:

Doubling as a cool action movie where we see Denzel Washington face off against Bruce Willis for the first time ever and as a political thriller spotlighting racism, American pride, the faces of fear, government corruption, morality when it comes to fighting terror, and ethics regarding all levels of law enforcement, The Siege may not succeed at every theme it tries to take on, but it’s a very entertaining film that is much more than the surface level criticism it has received over the years. It’s one of those movies that garners a bad reputation because out of context moments and scenes being highlighted to disregard it. Honestly, it’s very reminiscent of the heated discussions surrounding 2008’s Tropic Thunder and the role of blackface in the movie, an argument led by people who didn’t watch the movie or didn’t understand the point of it. Though it will never be remembered like Ben Stiller’s famous comedy, The Siege does the same thing in a way as it walks the slippery slope of terrorism, how it relates to the Middle East, and how Americans would realistically respond when faced with action on their own soil. There’s good and bad with it, and it’s a tough subject to tackle, but it’s an exciting watch for what it’s worth. Anyone who brands Edward Zwick’s thriller as racist without any other layers of gray intertwined with it or explanation is the work of someone who wasn’t paying attention.

Taking on heavy subject matter like this will always be controversial no matter how well it’s done, and no one is saying The Siege is amazing, but it is an intriguing action movie that gives us a glimpse of what life could be like if our country dealt with terrorist threats in a major area like New York City, especially during the era in which it came out. Most of the criticism stemming from The Siege is because of its treatment of Arab characters. As more bombings happen from the terrorist cells in Brooklyn, soundbites are heard from news programs from reactionary American citizens immediately asking, “Why do they let these people in the country?”. We know the word “Arab” isn’t synonymous with “terrorist”, but it’s no secret that some sections of the country do think in this way. Some live in fear and have this one-dimensional way of thinking. As more bombings happen, you’re telling me there isn’t a very dangerous possibility that more citizens would start to move to this side of the fence and more racist conversations would become the norm? It’s an awful reality but a possible one, nonetheless. This is where some critics seemed to have trouble. So many moments can be deemed racist, but that’s not the point. The accuracy of America reacting in such a way is the point, with the only few people who don’t agree with these bigoted responses being the heroes of the story. In a movie where several devasting bombings happen and more innocents die every day, the viewer should not be surprised in seeing underlying racial tension boil to the surface because they are seeing these tragedies happen firsthand. Is this dangerous to spotlight? It can be, but to act like it doesn’t happen is just as dangerous. We can’t ignore the other half of society. We need to show them why this way of thinking is wrong.

Though this movie is more about the action comparatively, it still touches on conversations that need to be had in a world predicated on political turmoil and racial rhetoric and terminology, as it’s still a big part of everyday life.

The rhetoric depicted in the movie is attributed to the bad characters, and additional audio of this type of talk following a few more bombings are scarily accurate, especially now in a post-9/11 world. As bad as it may seem and how far things go in this film, with a member of the FBI’s son in Haddad being profiled and sent to an internment camp for questioning, this is the type of action being explored in an extreme case of terroristic threats. This is the hypothetical we’re being asked to suspend our disbelief for following multiple attacks, with one in particular costing 600 lives. How would the United States respond in this scenario? Knowing how divided the country is despite the amount of diversity, especially in a place like New York, how would the citizens react? Would they not flip out on someone like Hubbard for not getting immediate results and continuously allowing for causalities in populated areas? You’re telling me the news media wouldn’t be all over this and demand Hubbard’s firing, with him being the fall guy for America’s failure in stopping evil? Like it or not, the second half of The Siege is actually encased in realism, as a good portion of America’s citizens have knee-jerk reactions to everything. This shouldn’t be a surprise. It’s scarily accurate. Again, anyone who disagrees was not paying attention. There would be citizens who would demand immediate action, and when extreme measures are taken and it looks like they’re wrong, these same hypocritical people would soon shift the blame and say, “We didn’t want this!”.

In The Siege, this is the tipping point of the film, but you can’t help but see both sides of the coin. This is what makes things so interesting from an audience perspective.

Obviously, martial law should be avoided at all costs, and everyone knows it. We know it too because it turns New York into a Nazi-like police state where everyone is assumed to be a suspect, as those in control believe no other risks can be taken. As much as we like Hubbard though, his suggestion of letting the FBI continue to do their thing because they’ve seen some success isn’t going to cut it. Something needs to change because they’re running out of time and the casualties are only getting worse. Once again, the last attack cost them 600 lives and it was in FBI headquarters! That is unprecedented. No one in power would sit on their hands and say, “Yeah, it looks like you got it covered” following a horrific attack like that. Big action would need to be taken by those in charge. Anything less would be irresponsible, and the media would have a field day with it. Though this is an extreme resolution, it’s not out of the realm of possibility when you take a look at everything that happens within the movie. It gets to the point where the public is so worried of death around every corner, backfire from a bus is enough to have people jumping to the ground for cover. With mounting pressures from the media and the American public, they decide to take drastic measures, and it doesn’t take a genius to see why it got as far as they did. What makes this fine line okay is that we are never blinded by the militant approach of Bill Devereaux. The message or theme of the film is never clouded with racism superseding things even with the revelation of the film’s villain in the end. The “good guy” characters are on the right side of history, and the viewer doesn’t waiver in understanding right from wrong even if they agree with stronger action having to be taken. Sure, the villain might be a Middle Eastern character, it’s more nuanced than that. The intention isn’t to condemn all of the people in the surrounding areas. Devereaux and a section of the public who are wrong in the movie do, which is why they are rightfully painted as antagonists.

With Edward Zwick’s handling of the material, and the heroic, reasonable approach by Denzel Washington’s Anthony Hubbard in another cool, action hero role, the audience can tell why the action of the U.S. Army in The Siege towards the Arab citizens is not only wrong but downright despicable. Washington’s Hubbard is such a great protagonist to lead a film like this because he struggles with this fine line just as well, as his face becomes the poster child for failing to stop terrorism on quite a few occasions. He’s very much an American from this era. He’s laidback, he does his job, and loves his country, but when he’s faced with real danger and fails, he reacts in anger and wants results by any means necessary. The difference is that he strays away from going too deep into violence when he’s close to going over the edge. It’s a testament to his character. Hubbard still has to adhere to the law and stops himself from going too far into the deep end to think everyone is a suspect because it’s morally wrong and irresponsible, especially for someone in his position. He even fights with others in his field when he feels like they cross the line or are breaking the law, as it’s exemplified on numerous occasions with Devereaux and Sharon. This is what separates him from a villain like Bill Devereaux, the self-proclaimed patriot that uses this opportunity to police New York and question anyone who fits the description of a Middle Eastern man between the ages of 18-30. Despite this description fitting the bill of millions, he has no problem with this or how unfair it is to the citizens who did no wrong because in his mind, it’s the only way to stop things. It’s a means to an end.

In a defining moment of the film, the general starts going full “Guantanamo Bay” on suspect Tariq Husseini (Amro Salama) who’s placed in a chair naked. Devereaux outright suggests different torture methods like electric shock to get some sort of answer, despite Hubbard and Sharon knowing that the guy isn’t involved in anything. It’s a wild scene and Hubbard pours his heart out asking, “Are you people insane?”. Stressing the lack of time and how he thinks the terrorist cells know where the others are when Sharon stresses they don’t since she’s an expert on the subject, Devereaux is adamant that this is just one guy’s life, and it can save thousands. In a heartfelt monologue, Washington retorts with what’s stopping him from killing 2 or 6 reminding us how far over the line this is, but you realize the severity of leaving a “patriot” like Devereaux in charge when he coldly responds with, “Feel free to leave whenever you like Agent Hubbard”. It’s my favorite scene in the film, and it’s such an intense moment that solidifies the emotion and seriousness of this events of The Siege, despite it being treated like some run-of-the-mill late 90s action movie about terrorism. Concluding with Hubbard suggesting a nationwide panic potentially being the plan of the terrorist cells (“They’ve already won!”), and the eventual offscreen gunshot heard when Hubbard and Sharon exit the room, it’s such an underrated and powerful moment that needs to be given credit for making the movie.

In addition, the ending of the scene is just a perfectly subtle way of explaining the roads of our three principal characters. Wiping blood off his hands in the most nonchalant way possible, Deveraux heads down the hallway. Refusing to partake in the torture and death of an innocent citizen, Hubbard leaves in the opposite direction. Meanwhile, Sharon is planted firmly in the middle of the hallway and doesn’t move, as her heart is in the right place, but her hand was deep enough in the cookie jar that a lot of what’s going on can be rooted back to her. It’s very well done when you take a step back and look at the story as a whole.

The film is nowhere near as one-sided as some may think despite the number of retrospective reviews that have trashed it. Yes, the main plot is centered around Americans trying to find a Muslim terrorist cell in Brooklyn, but this alone doesn’t make it an anti-Muslim film. The main characters understand right from wrong. Even when main character Hubbard is motivated to stop terrorism at any cost and it looks like he’s going to go full vigilante at one point, he takes a step back and makes it clear he has to do things by the book despite it taking a little bit longer. As badly as he wants to, he’s not going to storm places and kick ass and take names without the proper authority given. The lone exception is when he shoots down a terrorist by his lonesome to save a group of schoolchildren when they didn’t have time to assess the situation, but this was just a badass action hero moment for entertainment purposes and is welcomed in the grand scheme of things. Hubbard’s focus on doing things the right way doesn’t come off as nerdy or groan-inducing either because of how likable the character is as a protagonist. This might come off as a bit random, but just because I recently watched the entirety of the franchise, I can’t help but think how someone like Jack Ryan would respect a character like Hubbard for his approach to law enforcement and corrupt practices. In most movies, many would tend to agree with Sharon when she argues with Hubbard about how they need to move in right away on potential terrorists while they have them, regardless of the warrant. Hubbard agrees because he wants to get them desperately, but he is adamant about getting a warrant and doing things the right way. Otherwise, the American justice system will let them walk away free, no matter the evidence. As annoying as this may be from a cinematic standpoint, he’s right.

Despite the lack of time, they have to go about things the right way, and it makes Denzel’s strait-laced character that much more likable. Of course, this is mostly because Denzel Washington can make anything cool including a character with unshakeable principles even with facing the casualties of American lives time and time again. It’s his “movie star” aura that makes The Siege consistently entertaining despite some noted problems. Also, it’s important to have action hero characters who are cool, law enforcement workers that actually follow the rules. It’s a precedent we don’t see too much of anymore after the modern era’s move into antihero fandom. This is why when we get a badass protagonist like Denzel’s Anthony Hubbard, it really works and reminds us of the importance of right and wrong when we seemingly forget the fact when tragedy strikes. At one point, he even tells his partner and friend in Haddad that he’ll have his badge if he catches him hitting a suspect again. As a movie fan, you love it when Haddad hit Samir for being an asshole, but someone like Hubbard is right there to remind the audience watching that no matter what he said, it doesn’t give Haddad the right to hit a man because it’s assault. Despite being such a random movie forgotten within the cultural zeitgeist of pre- and post-9/11 fiction, a moment like this can really change your perspective on action movie violence, at least for the sake of this specific story. On a side note, I loved how Hubbard threatens to fire him in private when he could’ve berated him in front of everyone. It’s just such a respectful and cool, Denzel-like thing to do, making you like this FBI agent even more.

Denzel Washington and Bruce Willis were very good as the hero and eventual villain respectively. It’s a dream matchup for action hero fans, and we can’t wait to see them at each other’s throats. Watching as two of the biggest box office stars of the 1990s argue is worth the watch alone because neither one refuses to give an inch to the other. It gets to the point where the U.S. Army and the FBI unofficially engage in guerilla warfare against each other in the third act as they both try to solve the terrorist issue with their own strategies. Denzel specifically is great as our protagonist who cares more about his job than anyone, trying to figure out anyway possible to protect the American people. You believe Denzel when he says it. After the first major bombing where Hubbard loses it in a meeting and talks about how serious he is at catching these guys (while dealing with a nosebleed), you feel that fire within him. If that doesn’t pump you up for the second half of the film, nothing will. When you’re watching a Denzel-centered movie, you know you’re going to see a scene or moment where he goes off at least once or twice, but you can’t wait until it does happen because he nails it every single time. Multiple times throughout The Siege, Denzel has these moments, and he comes to play without question. Washington speaks with such a ferocity when he wants to, but he can make the switch back to his usual smiling, charming, charismatic self in an instant. There’s no one like him. Bruce Willis also plays, as Elise so eloquently puts it, an “arrogant prick” very well too. He does that classic “Bruce Willis” squint and makes it known he overrules anyone’s authority just with his presence and unwavering confidence. As a Bruce Willis fan, I appreciate how well they made me want Denzel to beat his ass here.

There are some instances where the story details become a little too complicated for the movie’s own good like when Elise, who is actually CIA operative Sharon Bridger, reveals what actually happened with Samir when she was stationed in Iraq, how they were working together to stop Saddam Hussein, and how it related to the terrorists on the watch list all getting visas, but it made things more messy than it needed to be that late into the film. If the story was more focused on the stuff they did right and strayed away from the convoluted government corruption aspects of the story, the story would be a lot more memorable. The truly controversial parts of the movie are only treated as a thin layer of intrigue to add drama to a regular action movie. However, it should’ve been the reverse. This screenplay needed to dive deeper into the themes they brought up. Going along with this, Haddad being caught in the middle of this was a massive, missed opportunity that could have furthered the social commentary of the movie. Him trying to find his son at the internment camp is a pivotal moment of the film to explain to the audience the horrors of the martial law orders, but it felt like they just scratched the surface on what could be done with his character following this moment. Regardless, Annette Bening is a very solid contributor as the mysterious agent caught in the middle of everything. Her refusal to give up any information to Hubbard does get annoying, but her performance as Sharon/Elise is still strangely likable. Seeing her flirt on and off with Hubbard, as he tries to walk around it, was a fun level of tension added to the scenes, and their chemistry does make things interesting. It never goes anywhere story-wise, but it’s just enough to keep you guessing and wonder where things might go like in the amusing “Good cop/bad cop” routine they play on Samir to get the name.

Bening’s multi-layered character is a tough one to play because of how much she’s revealed to be involved in, but she’s able to make it her own and be a big part of the story because her competing allegiances creates for a lot of trouble. Unfortunately, the ending was off just a tinge. They try to make her a sympathetic character in the final stretch, but you don’t have the attachment to her like the film is trying to suggest, mostly because everything that does happen can technically be blamed on her. At that point in time, the interest in the film shifts almost entirely to the back-and-forth between the good guys and Devereaux rather than Elise’s involvement with the villain, which was clearly not the intention. Side note, I’m still not sure what the intention was with Sharon saying “Inshallah” following the Lord’s Prayer in English. What are they trying to say here?

Even so, Denzel’s reaction to her final word was hysterical.

With a solid cast and Denzel Washington leading the charge, there is a lot to like coming out of The Siege. The sense of urgency they create for the audience while injecting the horrors of racism, terrorism, and power given to the wrong people in the middle of it creates for an exciting action movie atmosphere. It’s not a totally complete feature though. Once Bruce Willis’s role got bigger, it changed the direction of the film and shifted the focus instead of giving both villains equal importance in regard to the story. Plus, things get a little too complicated for their own good with the Elise/Sharon subplot. Though it may have worked if the climax was better, it fails to deliver on the intricate buildup that directly preceded it, and you’re not sure what to think about the character once the movie is over. The climax was still solid, but it didn’t feel like the huge finale needed to cap off the story, though the final standoff between Washington and Willis saved it. The only thing I would suggest is that they should have declared martial law earlier in the film because the FBI taking on the U.S. Army was the most exciting part of the movie and should have lasted a lot longer than it did. It would’ve added another layer of tension to every action sequence following it because of them having to do everything discreetly, as they have to work in fear of them being attacked by their own government.

Regardless, The Siege is a very solid and entertaining, albeit imperfect movie. If you want to critique the story or certain plot developments, fine. However, the criticism of director Edward Zwick’s thriller should have never been about the themes and topics explored because it’s not the issue with the final product. Honestly, I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised with this one.