When you're watching a film describing an act as "the worst since Columbine" you know it's pre-9/11. And that's what makes "The Siege" even more interesting than it might have been, because in its way, it foretells, three years in advance, what this country would be facing.
In the scenario of The Siege, New York City is a target of various terrorist attacks on buses and in theaters, with bombs going off everywhere. FBI Special Agent Anthony Hubbard (Denzel Washington) and his Lebanese-American partner Frank Haddad (Tony Shalhoub) are on the case, and when a suspected terrorist, Sheikh Ahmed bin Talal is captured, terrorists warn that he must be released.
A CIA officer comes on the scene, Elise Kraft (Annette Bening), with whom Hubbard comes into conflict. The terrorist incidents escalate.
The President declares martial law and an Airborne division under a man named Devereaux (Bruce Willis) seals off Brooklyn as he tries to find the remaining terrorist cells. All young males of Arab descent, which includes Haddad's son Frank Jr. are detained in Yankee Stadium. There are violent demonstrations against the army that are met with violence from the army.
Pretty terrifying, with the empty streets, racial profiling, sanctioned torture, and people staying home all too reminiscent of 9/11. The film takes the WW II scenario of rounding up the Japanese and putting them in places like Manzanar.
All this is the way we clearly could have gone. There is some mention of noncommunication between departments, which was discovered to be a big problem in 9/11.
Washington, Bening, and Shalhoub are excellent in their roles. Their frustrations are palpable as is their desperation.
A cautionary tale, but prescient at the same time.
In the scenario of The Siege, New York City is a target of various terrorist attacks on buses and in theaters, with bombs going off everywhere. FBI Special Agent Anthony Hubbard (Denzel Washington) and his Lebanese-American partner Frank Haddad (Tony Shalhoub) are on the case, and when a suspected terrorist, Sheikh Ahmed bin Talal is captured, terrorists warn that he must be released.
A CIA officer comes on the scene, Elise Kraft (Annette Bening), with whom Hubbard comes into conflict. The terrorist incidents escalate.
The President declares martial law and an Airborne division under a man named Devereaux (Bruce Willis) seals off Brooklyn as he tries to find the remaining terrorist cells. All young males of Arab descent, which includes Haddad's son Frank Jr. are detained in Yankee Stadium. There are violent demonstrations against the army that are met with violence from the army.
Pretty terrifying, with the empty streets, racial profiling, sanctioned torture, and people staying home all too reminiscent of 9/11. The film takes the WW II scenario of rounding up the Japanese and putting them in places like Manzanar.
All this is the way we clearly could have gone. There is some mention of noncommunication between departments, which was discovered to be a big problem in 9/11.
Washington, Bening, and Shalhoub are excellent in their roles. Their frustrations are palpable as is their desperation.
A cautionary tale, but prescient at the same time.