I've always loved director Ed Zwick's films. The Civil War drama Glory is one of my all time favorite pictures. Legends of the Fall and Courage Under Fire were also beautiful pieces of work. Enter The Siege, the third collaboration between Zwick and actor Denzel Washington.

In The Siege, several terrorist acts transpire in New York City forcing F.B.I. agent Washington to take action. Bruce Willis is a blow-hard Army officer who is ordered by the President to identify and eliminate the terrorists. The film has come under attack for it's depiction of the Arabic community, which is absolutely ridiculous. The point of the movie is obvious - the real enemy is us. Zwick and his screenwriters actually go out of their way to make this apparent. Even one of the films heroes, played by Tony Shalhoub from TV's Wings, is Arabic. In fact, he's really the best part of the film.

Unfortunately the movie reached a point where I didn't buy into what was happening. It never felt real or threatening. It is also predictable and full of cliches. Washington is solid as always, but not enough to overpower the bogged-down screenplay. Annette Bening is also along for the ride and I was surprised by how annoying her character was. Willis is completely forgettable in an extremely underwritten role.

Zwick has done a good job putting the film together. It looks sharp, but doesn't add up to much. In the end The Siege isn't a really bad movie, but it is a far cry from the director's earlier films.