70 lines
5.6 KiB
Plaintext
70 lines
5.6 KiB
Plaintext
what if one of our cities became the target for terror ?
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what can we do ?
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what can america really do about the increasing threat of terrorism ?
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what basic human rights are we willing to sacrifice to prevent another oklahoma city disaster ?
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so far america has been the leading nation , opposing the fundamentalist terrorists around the world .
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it is the land of opportunities .
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it is the land of freedom .
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but what if it became the new target ?
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this dark fantasy has unfortunately a very strong grounding in reality .
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when a special branch of the united states military , under the command of general william devereaux ( bruce willis ) , takes prisoner suspected terrorist mastermind sheik ahmed bin talal , islamic fundamentalists across the world take notice .
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the only warning the fbi receives is a single , cryptic message : " release him . "
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then all hell breaks loose in new york .
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a bus is destroyed , killing 25 civilians .
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a broadway theater is bombed .
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hostages are taken at a school .
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as the wave of terrorist activity crests , the president must consider if the only way to save the city and break the grip of fear is to declare martial law .
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devereaux argues against that eventuality , but is nevertheless ready to lead 10 , 000 men into action on american soil .
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another person not in favor of martial law is anthony hubbard ( denzel washington ) , the fbi agent in charge of investigating the terrorist activities .
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his staff is comprised of smart , energetic , intelligent men and women very much unlike the usual group o !
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f moronic feds we're used to seeing in movies .
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hubbard develops an uneasy alliance with cia agent elise kraft ( annette bening ) , whose department knows more about the situation than they're willing to reveal .
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but the attacks escalate .
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the fbi are helpless , chasing an invisible enemy .
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the land is under siege .
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they have lost control . . a
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terror is coming from within . .
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what's great about this film is that it is made as if holding up a mirror to life .
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it reflects reality .
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and that's why it makes such an impact .
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edward zwick has created a clever , well written and terrifying thriller that may very well be one of the best films of the season .
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the director manages to tell several stories simultaneously .
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and so his film plays on several levels , never loosing focus on its main objective .
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he is exploring the abuse of power , the distrustful relationships that exist between various segments of the u . s . government ( the army , the fbi , and the cia ) .
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he takes a look at the complexities inherent when so many secrets and lies are involved .
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the palestinian community in 1998 new york is treated exactly as japanese americans were during world war ii .
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there are concentration camps and unlawful interments , all in the name of the " greater good . "
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in the latter part of the film the land of opportunities looses its heart and soul -- freedom .
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was that what the terror !
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ists really wanted ?
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this film has evoked protests and objections from the arab-american population in the u . s . and n . y . especially .
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but to me these protests seem unnecessary .
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zwick is careful to not step over the line and make the palestinians typical hollywood bad guys .
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the script is therefore wonderfully balanced .
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agent hubbard's best friend and loyal colleague frank haddad ( tony shalhoub ) is lebanese-american .
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and it is quite often you hear lines such as " my first boyfriend was palestinian .
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they seduce you with their suffering " or " they love this country as much as we do . "
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but no matter how you twist this matter , you won't get away from the fact that when it comes to world wide terrorism it is arab-speaking population who are in the great majority .
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more to the point , the siege demonstrates the injustice of blanket condemnation of any ethnic group by depicting the unfair treatment of all arab-americans by the u . s . military .
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and thus this film does not serve as a source for discrimination in any !
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way .
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denzel washington is dashing as always .
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in this role he is much more determined and stronger than usual .
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anette bening is enjoyable and believable as a shadowy cia operative who prefers espionage , a network of snitches and seduction to gather information . .
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bruce willis is terrifying as the sadist , hungry for power , that never looses his connection with the audience , since his point of view is not too hard to understand .
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the film is elegantly shaped .
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the scenes are easily floating into each other and the film never seems overlong .
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zwick knows exactly how to provoke tension , horror and emotions and does it with a rarely observed professionalism .
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he tightens the intensity as the events progress .
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and when a plot twist comes , it actually is surprising .
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it is not a film drained in patriotism , like the work of roland emerich .
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nor is it a film that portrays explosions purely for entertainment values .
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it is a daring picture that has courage enough to undertake such a risky story and difficult journey .
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it has courage enough to get involved in politics .
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it questions our foreign policies , mentality and defense .
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i must admit that it ends rather disappointing , as the director turns the patriotism way up and innovation down .
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but despite of that , it is certainly an intelligent and thrilling film that provokes emotions and thoughts ; a virtue that few summer films can boast of .
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" this is the u . s . army .
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it's a broadsword , not a scalpel .
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believe me , you do not want us in an american city " - gen . william devereaux , " the siege "
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