The movie's setup -- Arab-Americans are rounded up in an un-Constitutional manner after a series of terrorists acts in New York -- looks today like a 'ripped from the headlines' plot. FBI agent Anthony 'Hub' Hubbard and his Arab-American partner Frank Haddad (Tony Shalhoub), whose own son is caught up in the anti-Arab sweep, are in charge of an increasingly chaotic situation in a city that eventually finds itself under martial law, with troops marching in cinematically over the Brooklyn Bridge.
This complex state of affairs, along with the arrival of the somewhat mysterious agent/spy Elise Craft (Annette Bening) offers ample opportunity for discussions, debates, and shouting matches about what is and isn't fair and legal in a time of terror. Things really come to a boil when military commander Major General William Devereaux (Bruce Willis) shows up to take the Dick Cheney position on matters of state (i.e. round 'em up first, sort 'em out later, and don't bother with Miranda rights), and it eventually becomes clear that he has even more nefarious plans in mind and probably needs to be stopped (like I said, the Dick Cheney position).
The Siege is effective throughout but especially in the early going as the city gets increasingly tense under the terror onslaught. Although it can't help but depict Arabs in a generally negative light (the protesters had a point), it's important to note that the movie comes out of liberal Hollywood, so there are plenty of opportunities for the imprisoned Arab-Americans to make the case that this wouldn't be happening to them if they were black or Puerto Rican. Probably true, although it would have happened if they were Japanese-American in 1942.
All the stars play to type. Washington is serious, focused, and all business. Bening is elegant and mysterious. Willis is Die Hardish but on the side of evil this time. Everything races along dramatically, with twists and turns of motivation along the way that hold your attention until all the final showdowns play out.
What's most interesting watching about The Siege today as opposed to in 1998 is that so much painful history has transpired since, and much of what seemed so extreme and unthinkable back then came to pass just four or five years later. How many uncharged 'enemy combatants' were in Guantanamo at its peak? If nothing else, The Siege is a good reminder of just how tenuous our hold on our civil rights can be when fear takes over.
