The Siege (2023)

The Siege (2023). 1h 27m | R

“Had a good concept but the execution was severely lacking. Seriously, the synopsis sounds great, and the opening scene sets you up for a ride, but then it all falls apart. It spends too much time with slow, stilted dialog and just a general snail pace. The biggest problem is it wants to be more epic, grander, wilder than it really is.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe main character, who is an impressive hulk of a man, lacks any charisma. His grungy voice and quips, I assume trying to harken back to bygone days of a u0026quot;manu0026#39;s manu0026quot; rogue, just didnu0026#39;t work. The other 2 womenu0026#39;s characters werenu0026#39;t memorable, either. Not to bust on anyoneu0026#39;s acting chops but this wasnu0026#39;t the movie where anybody shines.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe action was a real letdown, so those hoping for a banging good time with bullets flying and explosions will similarly be disappointed. Thereu0026#39;s minimal gunplay, with the usual u0026quot;trained assassins/soldiers that canu0026#39;t hit the broad side of a barnu0026quot; mindlessness, and the fisticuffs are even less impressive. For Stisenu0026#39;s stature, youu0026#39;d expect him to be out there ripping people new ones but apparently, heu0026#39;s just an average joe when it comes to any physical combat.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eReturning to the idea of it wanting to be bigger than it is, there are many over-the-top moments that feel ill-placed. In one scene, the heroes go down a fire escape while a bad guy rains not a hail, but a full-blown hurricane of bullets from a heavy machine gun at them for a good minute. Iu0026#39;m talking 1000+ rounds, and of course every bullet just ricochets off the railings, posing no threat. Itu0026#39;s too ridiculous for this movie and feels like they couldnu0026#39;t commit to being too wild (most likely for budget reasons). The movie mightu0026#39;ve been better had they just gone nuts with it and not have it be such a serious affair.”