American Siege

Riddled with bad ideas and dialogue but also peppered with bizarre touches and interesting character moments, this thriller isn't exactly good, but it does rise a little above others of its ilk. Reunited with his Cosmic Sin director Edward Drake, star Willis gets slightly more to do in American Siege than in many of his window-dressing-type roles, but he's still somehow the movie's least interesting character. He practically doesn't even need to be here at all, and his line readings are tonally all over the place, emphasizing certain words or leaving spaces between words seemingly at random. Thankfully, the main characters -- the three hostage-takers -- are rather more compelling, especially the siblings. Hindman's Grace is quick witted and action oriented, starting the movie by killing one of the villains and proudly wearing bleeding scratches on her face for the rest of the movie.

She also shows the cracks in her armor, indicating that a troubled life led her to become so hard. Always a beat or two behind his sister, Urb's Tony has a spiritual flair, like a grinning, snake-charmer preacher. When he tries to break open an armored door, he claims he's doing "God's work." When he finally breaks in and enters a dark chamber, he mutters, "it better not be aliens ... ." (A movie about them and their absent sister, a trio of outlaw siblings, might have been a great deal more interesting!) Unfortunately, despite the bursts of life the movie gets from these quirky characters, American Siege is still based around a pretty uninspired idea and filmed in an uninspired way. It's basically a whole bunch of firepower, explosions, and annihilation to explain a simple missing-person story.