The Siege

Name: The Siege
Genre: Action, Drama, Thriller, Crime
Released: November 6, 1998
Duration: 116 min
Rating: 53
Cast: Bruce Willis, Denzel Washington

1998

METASCORE

Mixed or average reviews based on 25 Critic Reviews

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USER SCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 33 Ratings

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6.8

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6.8	User Score Generally favorable reviews based on 33 Ratings

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The Siege

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Movie Details & Credits

20th Century Fox Home Entertainment | Release Date: November 6, 1998 | R

Starring: Bruce Willis, Denzel Washington

Summary: A political thriller, a cautionary fiction that is chillingly close to leading news stories of the day. (Fox)

Director: Edward Zwick

Genre(s): Action, Drama, Thriller, Crime

Rating: R

Runtime: 116 min

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Critic Reviews

James Berardinelli

It's a thinking person's thriller, where pyrotechnics give way to plot, character development supplants fight scenes, and adrenaline does not short-circuit intelligence. Read full review

Michael O'Sullivan

What a shame, therefore, that in its puritanical treatment of the only strong female character, the otherwise politically correct police story is blithely unaware of its own closet misogyny. Read full review

Peter Travers

The Siege is not a documentary but a glossy Hollywood entertainment that is prey to all the exaggerations, simplifications and acting histrionics that come with the genre. Read full review

Chris Gore

A sometimes gripping but mostly routine shoot-em-up about Muslim terrorism in American. Read full review

Keith Phipps

As a nail-biting thriller, The Siege is too confusing, and as a thought-provoking social drama, too confused. Read full review

TV Guide Magazine Maitland McDonagh

Zwick frequently sacrifices dramatic urgency in the name of sobriety. Read full review

Mick LaSalle

In an attempt to be complex and fair-minded, a simple story becomes a jumble of confused motivations. Read full review

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User Reviews

bram29

Oct 15, 2011

very interesting movie. i was at the edge of my chair almost all the time. i especially liked the acting in this movie.

0 of 1 users found this helpful01

FilipeNeto

Jul 21, 2018

This film tells of a wave of terrorist attacks in New York provoked by Muslim terrorists. It debuted in 1998, but it could almost have been done yesterday, as current and pertinent as it is. The script mixes politics, military secrecy and terrorism, themes sinisterly close to our reality. IThis film tells of a wave of terrorist attacks in New York provoked by Muslim terrorists. It debuted in 1998, but it could almost have been done yesterday, as current and pertinent as it is. The script mixes politics, military secrecy and terrorism, themes sinisterly close to our reality. I liked the way the film criticizes US because much of what is said in the film seems to resonate with what we have seen lately in the last twenty years. Terrorism is no longer a thing of some countries or regions: as in the movie, it can happen in our city and we have to live with it. As noted in the film, CIA made blunders in Middle East, which the world is now paying the bill. And the behavior of American military in the film doesn't lead us remember Abu Ghraib or Guantanamo? Everything in this film is sinisterly current. Another thing I liked: here almost there are no heroes. We all have our ghosts, gray areas, and sins to atone. The notion of "good guy" and "bad guy" is no longer valid in this film. Problems? The lack of reason for the terrorist attacks. There are fanatics blowing up bombs, but why? This could have been well explored, as it certainly would have been had the film been more recent.

Actors do an OK job for most of the time, though none of them have actually been excellent. Denzel Washington has the most central character and is closest to the image of the good guy, but is a character too simple and flat. Annette Bening has the most psychologically intense and complex character, deserving applause for the way she did it, but ends up losing her brilliance by the way the film ends. Bruce Willis is the villain, in an open criticism of the American military's authoritarianism, but is a character so little explored and poorly developed that it looks like a caricature.

The film was thought of as a thriller, and we actually feel the tension growing, but the ending is disappointing and predictable. There remain good political criticisms, although relatively lightly, and the sinister parallels of topicality I have mentioned.… Expand

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alejandro970

Sep 29, 2019

Just check out the date of production: 1998; three years before of 9/2001. New York menaced by fundamentalist terrorism, and two characters making the best for managing by opposite methods. The civil rights context is politically correct but it lacked of something to be more remarkable.

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

stevea326

Feb 18, 2012

Mediocre movie - decent if you are looking for a political thriller. Some exciting scenes throughout the movie, but lack of flow and clarity on plot makes the movie suffer.

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86	#86 Most Discussed Movie of 1998
45	#45 Most Shared Movie of 1998