Under Siege 2

A superior train-board Seagal adventure featuring bug-eyed bastard Bogosian, backed up by mean-as-a-Doberman henchman McGill. Whenever the star threatens to get sincere or sentimental, Kiwi director Murphy cuts to bone-crunching violence or cliff-hanging suspense. Shortly after his estranged brother's death in an air crash, Casey Ryback (Seagal) and his orphaned 17-year-old niece Sarah (Heigl) board the Grand Continental train from Denver to LA. Uncomfortable in his new surrogate father role, Ryback is relieved when the train is hijacked by megalomaniac scientist Travis Dane (Bogosian) and his terrorist gang. Using state-of-the-art technology, Dane seizes control of a military satellite he designed before being sacked, then demonstrates its awesome power by wiping out China (yes, all of it). Next up is the Pentagon and the entire Eastern seaboard - unless Uncle Sam stumps up $1bn. The one duff element is young black porter Bobby (Chestnut), a reluctant back-up man whose underwritten role is a cynical sop to the non-white segment of Seagal's fan base. That aside, this is Seagal's best movie since Out for Justice.