On the other hand, why not just watch Under Siege 2 again and save yourself a job? There seemed a time - long, long ago, I know - when Jeff Fahey seemed to be going somewhere. It seemed as if he might be going to the same kind of place, say, Billy Zane was going. Unfortunately, they misjudged their stop and got off at Palookaville, where they have been resident ever since, hardly troubling the rest of us with their 'adventures'. And then, after so long - this! Does anyone else see the irony of a 'vehicle' for JF being... a hijacked train? This is even worse than the Pinter-penned drivel that was the remake of 'Sleuth'. Why take something good and regurgitate it as this kind of pap? Well, actors got to eat too - even if it is crow.
10 Reviews
Does TV always give you that adrenaline rush!
sol121824 March 2009
Warning: Spoilers
**Some Spoilers** Being obsessed in capturing outlaw militia leader David Anderson, Brent Huff, ATF man Eddie Lyman, Jeff Fahey, got himself suspended for overreacting, to say the least, in a raid on Anderson's secret hide out.
It's when Eddie's girlfriend Valerie Miller (Beth Toussaint), as his press secretary, went on a train trip taking anti-gun campaigning Seanator Douglas Wilson, Eddie Hudson, down to Southern California that he, having nothing better to do, decided to tag along. Wilson plans to plead his case to the American public for unrestricted Federal gun-control laws in the congress which he hopes to get passed. It also so happens that Anderson has plans for the Senator and his staff that call for not only the use of guns, in all shapes sizes, but also the use of a suitcase nuclear bomb to blow up a good part of the Golden State!
The action, when it finally starts, is fast and furious with Eddie taking on not only Anderson and his gang of militia men but his own ATF who are anything but happy with him being on the train, and unauthorized at that, and jeopardizing all those aboard including Senator Wilson.
Despite Anderson and Co. being the bad guys in the movie he at least had an excuse for not liking federal enforcement agencies like the ATF in that they were responsible for the death, in a wild shoot out, of both his wife and young daughter. It was also ironic that Senator Wilson who's so fanatically anti-gun also had his wife and daughter gunned down, like Anderson, in a drive by shooting but had the exact opposite opinion on firearms that Anderson had! That was until the opportunity presented itself for Senator Wilson to get his hands on an assault weapon and then start blasting away!
As the movie went on it became very obvious to everyone, but the militia men, that Anderson was insane with some kind of a death wish and was not only planning to murder his hostages but himself and his gang of terrorists as well! This had Anderson knock off more of his fellow militia men, who didn't have a clue in what he was planning for them, then even Eddie and the ATF did!
By the numbers thriller with really no surprises to offer it's audience but lots of mindless shootouts and explosions as well as a major train wreck. The only surprises in the movie was the nuclear bomb that Anderson planned to detonate on board the runaway train. Being the size of a can of aerosol hairspray I wondered if it, when activated, could have even blown up doll house much less a major town or city. And what was even more ridicules about the so-called nuclear bomb is that it took nothing more then Valerie pulling out a single wire, or plug, to totally disarm the thing!
It's when Eddie's girlfriend Valerie Miller (Beth Toussaint), as his press secretary, went on a train trip taking anti-gun campaigning Seanator Douglas Wilson, Eddie Hudson, down to Southern California that he, having nothing better to do, decided to tag along. Wilson plans to plead his case to the American public for unrestricted Federal gun-control laws in the congress which he hopes to get passed. It also so happens that Anderson has plans for the Senator and his staff that call for not only the use of guns, in all shapes sizes, but also the use of a suitcase nuclear bomb to blow up a good part of the Golden State!
The action, when it finally starts, is fast and furious with Eddie taking on not only Anderson and his gang of militia men but his own ATF who are anything but happy with him being on the train, and unauthorized at that, and jeopardizing all those aboard including Senator Wilson.
Despite Anderson and Co. being the bad guys in the movie he at least had an excuse for not liking federal enforcement agencies like the ATF in that they were responsible for the death, in a wild shoot out, of both his wife and young daughter. It was also ironic that Senator Wilson who's so fanatically anti-gun also had his wife and daughter gunned down, like Anderson, in a drive by shooting but had the exact opposite opinion on firearms that Anderson had! That was until the opportunity presented itself for Senator Wilson to get his hands on an assault weapon and then start blasting away!
As the movie went on it became very obvious to everyone, but the militia men, that Anderson was insane with some kind of a death wish and was not only planning to murder his hostages but himself and his gang of terrorists as well! This had Anderson knock off more of his fellow militia men, who didn't have a clue in what he was planning for them, then even Eddie and the ATF did!
By the numbers thriller with really no surprises to offer it's audience but lots of mindless shootouts and explosions as well as a major train wreck. The only surprises in the movie was the nuclear bomb that Anderson planned to detonate on board the runaway train. Being the size of a can of aerosol hairspray I wondered if it, when activated, could have even blown up doll house much less a major town or city. And what was even more ridicules about the so-called nuclear bomb is that it took nothing more then Valerie pulling out a single wire, or plug, to totally disarm the thing!
A rip off of a rip off - whatever next?
Leofwine_draca14 January 2017
Warning: Spoilers
You know you're deep in B-movie territory when you end up watching a rip-off of a rip-off. HIJACK is a Z-grade piece of entertainment starring action man Jeff Fahey in a plot that openly rips off UNDER SIEGE 2: DARK TERRITORY, itself an obvious DIE HARD clone relocated to a train. HIJACK copies that film's plot and even some scenes directly, like Fahey getting thrown off the train halfway through and having to find his way back on board. This time around the terrorist goons are after a senator on board the train and Fahey is the only guy to stop them.
It's not a bad film per se, just one that's constrained by deficiencies of budget and a lack of creativity and imagination. The performances are typically wooden despite the appearance of a few familiar faces and Fahey looks good but doesn't deliver much in the way of charisma. The bad guys overact a bit but have zero presence. The action doesn't contain any skilled martial arts, just a couple of brawls and death by knife. Everything else looks cheap and derivative. Cast-wise, we get turns from '80s action star Brent Huff as the baddie, old time Frank McRae in support, and the great Ernie Hudson as the senator (and even his kid shows up). Patrick Kilpatrick plays almost exactly the same role as he did in UNDER SIEGE 2, while Robert Miano, star of the cult PHANTAMASGORIA video game, plays a SWAT leader. It's not very good, but B-movie fans might feel differently should they be in a forgiving mood.
It's not a bad film per se, just one that's constrained by deficiencies of budget and a lack of creativity and imagination. The performances are typically wooden despite the appearance of a few familiar faces and Fahey looks good but doesn't deliver much in the way of charisma. The bad guys overact a bit but have zero presence. The action doesn't contain any skilled martial arts, just a couple of brawls and death by knife. Everything else looks cheap and derivative. Cast-wise, we get turns from '80s action star Brent Huff as the baddie, old time Frank McRae in support, and the great Ernie Hudson as the senator (and even his kid shows up). Patrick Kilpatrick plays almost exactly the same role as he did in UNDER SIEGE 2, while Robert Miano, star of the cult PHANTAMASGORIA video game, plays a SWAT leader. It's not very good, but B-movie fans might feel differently should they be in a forgiving mood.
Clichés abound
joefunsmith23 March 2009
Warning: Spoilers
I found a lot to dislike about this movie. The characters are one-dimensional and unbelievable.
Jeff Fahey plays an ATF agent who immediately gets into trouble with his commanding officer for being a head strong officer who refuses to play by the rules leading to his being relieved of his position. You know right from this beginning he will be the hero.
The bad guys are a bunch of "right wing militia." The leader at one point explains, "Well, I don't care for the Federal government coming into our states and into our homes and taking away our freedoms bit by bit and taking away our right to bear arms. It's not the America God gave us. It's not the America I want to live in." This may very well be something a right wing militia member, intent on starting a revolution would say, but it is also something a libertarian, intent on following a principle of non-aggression -- one who believes in guns for defensive purposes only -- might say.
The Senator's adviser played by Larry Manetti who is pegged early on as a weasel, pulls a classic weasel move, using a teenage girl as a human shield to protect him from the threat of gunfire.
Most of the movie takes place on a train. Shockingly (not) there is a scene where Fahey walks on the top of the moving train.
The nuclear bomb fits in a small briefcase. The smallest nukes known, with all peripherals needed are the size of a small refrigerator.
All of this could have been excused a little if the movie had some sort of plot twist, excellent acting or memorable dialog.
Jeff Fahey plays an ATF agent who immediately gets into trouble with his commanding officer for being a head strong officer who refuses to play by the rules leading to his being relieved of his position. You know right from this beginning he will be the hero.
The bad guys are a bunch of "right wing militia." The leader at one point explains, "Well, I don't care for the Federal government coming into our states and into our homes and taking away our freedoms bit by bit and taking away our right to bear arms. It's not the America God gave us. It's not the America I want to live in." This may very well be something a right wing militia member, intent on starting a revolution would say, but it is also something a libertarian, intent on following a principle of non-aggression -- one who believes in guns for defensive purposes only -- might say.
The Senator's adviser played by Larry Manetti who is pegged early on as a weasel, pulls a classic weasel move, using a teenage girl as a human shield to protect him from the threat of gunfire.
Most of the movie takes place on a train. Shockingly (not) there is a scene where Fahey walks on the top of the moving train.
The nuclear bomb fits in a small briefcase. The smallest nukes known, with all peripherals needed are the size of a small refrigerator.
All of this could have been excused a little if the movie had some sort of plot twist, excellent acting or memorable dialog.
Off the rails
hwg1957-102-26570427 March 2017
Warning: Spoilers
Our maverick hero (Cliche 1) is suspended from the ATF (Cliche 2) and sits at home brooding (Cliche 3) then goes off to catch a train where his partner just happens to be the aide of a senator who is trying to bring in anti-gun laws. Terrorists board the train (Cliche 4) with a nuclear bomb (Cliche 5) to threaten the senator until our hero stops them (Cliche 6). There are more clichés but that will suffice to show it is a limp re-tread of other movies.
The acting is underpowered despite having Jeff Fahey and Ernie Hudson playing lead characters and Brent Huff as the main villain is threatening as a wet lettuce in July. Patrick Kilpatrick plays a minor role but he would have been much better as the main villain. Beth Toussaint and Rosalind Allen are OK.
There are frequent shots of the train travelling which are visually pleasant. Apart from that the excitement and thrills were definitely off the rails.
The acting is underpowered despite having Jeff Fahey and Ernie Hudson playing lead characters and Brent Huff as the main villain is threatening as a wet lettuce in July. Patrick Kilpatrick plays a minor role but he would have been much better as the main villain. Beth Toussaint and Rosalind Allen are OK.
There are frequent shots of the train travelling which are visually pleasant. Apart from that the excitement and thrills were definitely off the rails.
Hijack
CinemaSerf28 August 2023
Maybe it should just have been called the Ernie Hudsons show? Father and son feature heavily in this rather rudimental train hijack film that has plenty of derring-do but virtually no jeopardy at all. Jeff Fahey was never better than C-list, and here his proves his acting worth as the ATF agent who must thwart an evil plan to detonate a nuclear bomb on board the train killing Hudson Snr. ("Sen. Wilson") and a few million others. Adventures on a train can work well, but this doesn't really offer anything more than a vehicle for a few mediocre actors to deliver some set-piece action scenarios with daft dialogue for just over 90 minutes before an ending that, though after a bumpy road (or rail?), was just never in doubt. Nah, give it a miss.
The endless Die Hard franchise
searchanddestroy-129 October 2021
No one on earth knows exactly how many DIE HARD rip-offs features were put in production since the original, no one nows how many zeros are after the first number, how many junk, garbage stuff, most of them destined to straight to VHS or DVD rental market. This one makes no exception and this won't enhance Jeff Fahey's career, whose hightlight character was in Clint Eastwood's WHITE HUNTER BLACK HEART, back in 1988. But we must admit that it evokes the firearms issue in the USA, surprising to find such a topic in this kind of film. It remains a good time waster anyway.
Hijack is not exactly essential viewing...unless you really, really, really like train-set action movies.
tarbosh2200028 July 2020
Warning: Spoilers
Eddie Lyman (Fahey) is an ATF agent with a burning desire to take down a domestic terrorist organization called the Firebird Action Network, or FAN. He has so much dedication to his job, in fact, that he goes rogue and gets suspended from the force. When his wife (?) Valerie (Toussaint), a PR flack for Senator Douglas Wilson (Hudson the Elder) is called away to accompany him on a train trip through the outskirts of L.A., trouble follows. FAN baddies David Anderson (Huff) and Carl Howard (Kilpatrick) HIJACK the train and arm it with a nuclear bomb and direct it towards a high-population area so it can blow up and do maximum damage.
Thankfully, Lyman is also on board the train. Back at HQ, fellow ATF agents John Gathers (Miano) and Frank Jennings (Hudson the Younger) are holding down the fort. Will Lyman keep things on track? Or will the FAN fan the flames of terror? Will you be interested in finding out?
Another day, another train slog. As if Under Siege 2: Dark Territory (1995), Derailed (2002), and Death Train (2003) weren't enough, along comes Hijack. To be fair, Hijack is better than those latter two entries in the Train Slog canon, but it's very similar. It will feel familiar to anyone who watches DTV action movies, theatrical action movies, train movies, TV movies, or pretty much anything. It's a train-slog-by-numbers that doesn't offer much new to a well-worn subgenre of Die Hard-esque escapades.
The cast is very good, however, and fan favorites like Fahey, Hudson, Miano, Huff, and Kilpatrick do their best to sustain interest, but it's hard when there's nothing to work with. It's a testament to these professionals that they did what they did with the material.
Fahey is always a quality hero (or villain for that matter) and as Lyman, the jigsaw puzzle-loving ATF agent, he doesn't snap into action nearly quickly enough. He should have been busting heads sooner than he does. Ernie Hudson is typically terrific as the senator (he wouldn't get to be President until Stealth Fighter), and here we also get two Hudsons for the price of one, as Ernie Hudson, Jr. is also on board. Huff and Kilpatrick, as the baddies, spout a lot of amusing political dialogue which marginally helps to sustain the viewers' interest. Toussaint looks a lot like fitness star Jillian Michaels.
Michaels should have been the heroine in at least one action movie. Maybe that will happen someday.
In the end, Hijack is not exactly essential viewing...unless you really, really, really like train-set action movies. That's action movies set on a train. Not a train set like the toys. You know what I mean. Anyway, if you want to see something like Hijack but done much better, check out Militia (2000).
Thankfully, Lyman is also on board the train. Back at HQ, fellow ATF agents John Gathers (Miano) and Frank Jennings (Hudson the Younger) are holding down the fort. Will Lyman keep things on track? Or will the FAN fan the flames of terror? Will you be interested in finding out?
Another day, another train slog. As if Under Siege 2: Dark Territory (1995), Derailed (2002), and Death Train (2003) weren't enough, along comes Hijack. To be fair, Hijack is better than those latter two entries in the Train Slog canon, but it's very similar. It will feel familiar to anyone who watches DTV action movies, theatrical action movies, train movies, TV movies, or pretty much anything. It's a train-slog-by-numbers that doesn't offer much new to a well-worn subgenre of Die Hard-esque escapades.
The cast is very good, however, and fan favorites like Fahey, Hudson, Miano, Huff, and Kilpatrick do their best to sustain interest, but it's hard when there's nothing to work with. It's a testament to these professionals that they did what they did with the material.
Fahey is always a quality hero (or villain for that matter) and as Lyman, the jigsaw puzzle-loving ATF agent, he doesn't snap into action nearly quickly enough. He should have been busting heads sooner than he does. Ernie Hudson is typically terrific as the senator (he wouldn't get to be President until Stealth Fighter), and here we also get two Hudsons for the price of one, as Ernie Hudson, Jr. is also on board. Huff and Kilpatrick, as the baddies, spout a lot of amusing political dialogue which marginally helps to sustain the viewers' interest. Toussaint looks a lot like fitness star Jillian Michaels.
Michaels should have been the heroine in at least one action movie. Maybe that will happen someday.
In the end, Hijack is not exactly essential viewing...unless you really, really, really like train-set action movies. That's action movies set on a train. Not a train set like the toys. You know what I mean. Anyway, if you want to see something like Hijack but done much better, check out Militia (2000).
Great action movie!
Movie Nuttball30 June 2004
The Last Siege is in My opinion a very good action movie with an unusual cast! Jeff Fahey, Ernie Hudson, Ernie Hudson Jr., Patrick Kilpatrick, Frank McRae, Beth Toussaint, and Brent Huff were all good in this movie. Brent Huff reminded Me a lot of Michael Wincott. Its something that Patrick Kilpatrick was in a similar movie called Under Siege 2: Dark Territory years before this was made. He even plays a similar character in this film and not to mention he is very good in the movie! I think he is an underrated actor. The music is very good in the movie, it has solid acting, action, directing, musical score, and everything else. If you liked Under Siege 2: Dark Territory and want to see another great film similar like it then The Last Siege is an awesome film to watch!
This really is a pretty good movie!
pat109200110 July 2001
A whistle stop campaign turned hijacking, this movie borrows a bit from Konchalovsky's "Runaway Train." It's a lean popcorn action thriller. Not a ton of character development, and the continuity between scenes is a bit uneven, but none-the-less it is a good example of the genre.
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