The Siege

A picture that was ahead of its time when it was released and only became relevant after 9/11. In this movie, Zwick makes politically engaged comments on breach of the Constitution, terrorism and restricting personal freedom for the purposes of public safety. Unfortunately, though, he also attempts to make a classic, Hollywood-type thriller but he wasn’t able to combine these two approaches into one consistent whole. The acting is good, especially on the part of Denzel Washington. The same applies to the topic, but the screenplay fell a long way short of exploiting all the potential held in it. (01/25/2007)

I admit that the premise in the screenplay was really advanced for the time. In 2001, when there was the attack at the World Trade Center, the screenwriters had to really beat their head about what a beast they created. Nevertheless, however horrible that event was, the current affairs in Europe are not that different. Quite the contrary. On the other hand, I appreciate that they speak clearly in the movie and blame primarily the religion. Nowadays, when I mention something about the Muslims on the Internet, my opinions get immediately deleted. It’s a pity that the whole film is so horribly average that they don’t talk about it in a better context. (01/14/2016)