'The Siege' is on HBO right now.

[WilliamPitt]

HBO2, to be exact.

Made in 1998.

Future history in the past, and turned into an action movie.

Gosh, but we were smart in 1998.

:grr:

[Broken_Hero]

1. I just bought that movie,

it was very...good, IMO. I thought Bruce Willis character, was...interesting(if not the most interesting).

[Guaranteed]

2. Yup, saw it a few weeks ago and was amazed at how its themes

apply so well today.

[Selatius]

3. Bruce Willis' character was, in his mind, doing "what was best" for his country.

I note that at the beginning he was opposed to the use of the military to deal with the situation, but when that sword was unsheathed, he seemed of the mind to see that it was used as quickly as possible. I can only assume his objective was to end it as quickly as possible by cutting as deep as possible with the sword to be able to put that sword back in its sheath.

[Erika]

4. Willis is an ass

He broke all kinds of environmental laws to cement his driveway into the river in Sun Valley. He rechannelled, etc.

[The Traveler]

6. Willis' character

had illegally kidnapped and held a Muslim leader ... which motivated the terrorists. He appears to have payed lip service to the principle that the military not be used for a police action, but his actions proved him to be of "the means justifies the ends" crowd. Sure, he wanted to end the situation as quickly as possible ... not only to save American lives but also (and perhaps equally important in his view) to preserve the security of his own illegal kidnapping operations.

I thought Willis played the role thoughtfully and skillfully, gradually revealing the character to be a man insufficiently guided by principle but quite skilled at wrapping all the right sounding words around his actions. The movie begged the question, what was the more significant threat? The possibility or even probability of terrorist attack, or the nation's reactions to that eventuality.

I liked the flick back then, and thought it a properly cautionary tale. It seems to me we are perilously close to living out that nightmare, if indeed we are not already there.

[fishwax]

5. I actually rented that movie on 9/11

The clerk looked at us like we were ghouls, but we needed it that night as a break from the constant news coverage.