An action movie with little action, a thriller with few thrills, The Siege is a wasted effort. It concerns the rise of terrorism and the extreme measures that are taken to keep it under control, culminating in a state of martial law in New York City. The movie isn't smart or insightful enough to give the subject its due. On the contrary, it treats its premise as just another part of a formula, which is resolved with shallow pseudo-patriotic artifice. The story was probably a good idea, but it needed a much more compelling execution to work.