Let’s be real. Casey Ryback is basically a superhero who wears a chef’s coat instead of a cape. By 1995, Steven Seagal was at the absolute peak of his "whisper-talk and break wrists" era. People usually point to the first movie on the battleship as the classic, but honestly? Under Siege 2: Dark Territory is where the franchise actually finds its soul. It’s bigger, daintier in its violence, and features a villain who is essentially a proto-Silicon Valley tech bro gone rogue.
It’s a train movie. You’ve got the Grand Continental, a luxury locomotive cruising through the Rocky Mountains, and it gets hijacked by mercenary hackers. They aren't after gold or drugs; they want a literal death ray in space. It sounds ridiculous because it is. But in the mid-90s, this was the gold standard for high-concept action. It’s got that specific "Die Hard on a [blank]" energy that defined a whole decade of cinema.
The Chaos of the Grand Continental
The plot kicks off when Ryback takes his estranged niece, Sarah—played by a very young Katherine Heigl—on a trip to LA. He’s trying to reconnect after her father died. It’s the classic "reluctant hero" setup. Suddenly, the train is seized by Travis Dane. Eric Bogosian plays Dane with this twitchy, caffeine-fueled arrogance that makes him one of the most underrated action movie villains of all time. He didn't just want money; he wanted to prove he was the smartest person in the room by blowing up the Pentagon with a satellite called Grazer One.
Ryback, of course, is in the kitchen. Or the baggage car. Or hanging off the side of a cliff.
The pacing in Under Siege 2: Dark Territory is relentless. Unlike the first film, which had a bit of a slow burn, this one gets to the shooting and the stabbing almost immediately. Seagal moves through the train cars like a ghost. One of the best parts about this era of Seagal’s career was the economy of movement. He doesn't take hits. He doesn't struggle. He just deletes people. It’s satisfying in a weird, primal way. You know he’s going to win, but you want to see exactly how he uses a kitchen knife or a microwave to do it.
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Why Travis Dane Was Ahead of His Time
Most villains in 1995 were ex-KGB or disgruntled generals. Travis Dane was different. He was a disgruntled government contractor. He designed the satellite system, got fired because he was a "genius lunatic," and then decided to hold the world hostage from a moving train. He’s got his laptops, his high-speed (for 1995) internet, and a team of mercenaries led by Marcus Penn, played by the terrifyingly buff Everett McGill.
The dynamic between the brain (Dane) and the brawn (Penn) gives the movie a dual-threat level that the original lacked. While Ryback is out there playing cat-and-mouse in the dark, the tension inside the control car keeps building. Dane is mocking the Joint Chiefs of Staff through a video feed. He’s giddy. He’s eating snacks while threatening to vaporize millions of people. It’s a performance that feels surprisingly modern. He’s the original "angry nerd" with a god complex.
Technical Feats and Practical Stunts
They actually built a massive set for the train interior, but the exterior shots were a mix of real Colorado scenery and some pretty ambitious model work. If you watch it today, some of the bluescreen effects when Ryback is hanging off the cliff look a bit dated. But the train crash at the end? That was a massive practical effect. They used a full-scale model and a literal explosion that still looks better than 90% of the CGI we see in modern streaming movies.
Director Geoff Murphy, who did The Quiet Earth, brought a sense of scale to the narrow hallways of the train. It’s hard to film action in a tube. You’ve only got two directions to go: forward or backward. Murphy manages to make the space feel claustrophobic without being boring. He uses the verticality of the train—the luggage racks, the undercarriage, the roof—to keep the choreography fresh.
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- Ryback builds a bomb out of household chemicals and a "Grape Squeeze" bottle.
- The mercenaries realize they are fighting a man who "is a professional."
- The famous line: "Nobody beats me in the kitchen."
The sheer audacity of the script is what keeps people coming back. It’s a movie where a satellite can trigger an earthquake, but the main conflict is solved with a well-timed punch.
The Ryback Method: A Different Kind of Hero
Seagal’s Casey Ryback isn't John McClane. McClane bleeds. McClane cries. McClane loses his shoes. Ryback doesn't even get his shirt untucked until the final act. There’s a certain segment of film fans who hate this. They think it lacks stakes. But there’s another school of thought that views Ryback as a force of nature. He’s the "boogeyman" for the bad guys.
In Under Siege 2: Dark Territory, the mercenaries are actually afraid of him. They’ve heard the stories about what happened on the USS Missouri. This adds a layer of dread for the villains that you don't usually see. Usually, the hero is the underdog. Here, the mercenaries realize they are trapped on a train with a guy who can kill them with a spoon.
The Legacy of the Sequel
Does it hold up? Mostly.
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If you can get past the 90s tech—the giant floppy disks and the "high-tech" hacking screens—the core of the movie is a rock-solid action thriller. It’s better than Speed 2. It’s better than most of the Die Hard sequels that came after the third one. It knows exactly what it is. It’s an R-rated, violent, slightly campy, high-stakes ride that doesn't overstay its welcome.
The film also served as a major stepping stone for Katherine Heigl. Before she was a rom-com queen or a Grey’s Anatomy star, she was dodging explosions in the mountains. She actually holds her own, giving Ryback something to care about other than just "stopping the bad guys."
Actionable Takeaways for Movie Buffs
If you’re planning a rewatch or seeing it for the first time, keep an eye on these specific details to get the most out of the experience:
- Look for the "Tech Logic": Pay attention to how the movie explains the satellite control. It’s a hilarious snapshot of how Hollywood viewed the "information superhighway" in 1995.
- Study the Fight Choreography: This was before the "shaky cam" era. You can actually see Seagal’s Aikido movements. Regardless of what you think of his later career, his hand speed in this movie is legitimate.
- The Soundtrack: Basil Poledouris, who did RoboCop and Conan the Barbarian, wrote the score. It’s bombastic and heroic, making the train feel like a moving fortress.
- Compare to the Original: Notice how the environment changes the stakes. On a ship, you have room to run. On a train, Ryback is constantly boxed in, forcing him to be more creative with his "chef-based" weaponry.
Grab some popcorn, turn your brain off just a little bit, and enjoy one of the last great practical-stunt-heavy action movies of the 20th century. It’s a masterclass in how to do a sequel that ups the ante without losing the DNA of the original.
To truly appreciate the film's place in history, watch it as part of a triple feature with Die Hard and Air Force One. You'll see the evolution of the "trapped hero" trope and how Under Siege 2: Dark Territory pushed the boundary of how much destruction one man could cause in ninety minutes. Check out the 4K restoration if you can find it; the mountain scenery deserves the extra pixels.