Rent American Siege (2021)

American Siege review by Mark McPherson - Cinema Paradiso

Once more into the breach of yet another in an endless series of bog-standard, direct-to-video action pictures with the unfortunate Bruce Willis shoved onto the cover. Given the recent medical issues of Willis, films like this have led to a much-needed lack of cynicism for the elder actor who seems to be forced into these dime-story action shlock fests. As a result, the old-and-should-die Golden Raspberry Awards have rescinded their Worst Performance by Bruce Willis in a 2021 Movie accolade.

Because, yes, Willis is not great in these many movies but can you blame him? American Siege joins a long line of forgettable pictures that share similar premises and amateur direction. The plot is pretty simple: a gang of thieves takes a doctor hostage in his own home and Willis as a sheriff needs to save the day. The writing is pretty stale, featuring the gang referring to the doctor as an Ayn Rand loving and Epstein defending elitists worth robbing. The direction is pretty bland, where Willis drifts in and out of his lines, and the gang tries to seem intimidating with lukewarm attempts at seeming menacing.

Nobody’s heart seems to be in this film and I can’t help but feel like director Edward John Drake feels out of his element. He has directed other Willis staring DTV features such as Breach, Cosmic Sin, and Apex. Except all of those films were science fiction pictures. Now here he is directing a downhome Georgia cop thriller, where characters either meander in their Southern drawl amid skeet shooting or make veiled threats amid a hostage situation.

It’s really sad to see Willis in this type of picture once again. There was a time when he might’ve put some vigor and some real snark into such a role that requires him to be cocky and stern. Yet here he is passively sleepwalking through this film. At least American Siege features him more prominently rather than just shoving him into a supporting role where he is wheeled out for a handful of lines, slapped on the cover, and onto the next picture.

I’m not kidding when I say that American Siege is just a mess of ideas. One would think there would be some greater context to the thieves. At first, it seems like they’re bound by revenge for the death of one of their friends. But then there’s confusing lines like the gang mentioning that the doctor’s safe contains some of the reptilian friends. Wait, okay, so it’s bizarre enough that the gang thinks a safe would be hiding beings but do they think reptilian people are real? Are they Alex Jones listeners, considering they also suspect the doctor’s a member of a satanist cult? Did Drake just Google a whole bunch of conspiracy theory nonsense and just smash it into the bad guy lingo?

American Siege is a mixture of the baffling and the boring. The dialogue never feels natural, where everybody speaks in either exposition or the dullest of mundane conversations. Action is kneecapped with off-screen shots and stock gunshot effects. The pathos and flashbacks are limp and free of emotion. Even the camerawork is incredibly clunky with the handheld approach. I’m sure it’s not news that such a picture is a snoozefest but just in case you were wondering if Willis finally landed a good film, this isn’t it. And, yeah, go easy on Willis. The dude is capable actor and not even the best of the medium could make such a film work.