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Similar to The Patriot
A deadly virus threatens to wipe out an entire Rocky Mountain town, leaving the town doctor to find some way to escape the soldiers who enforce the town's quarantine and devise an antidote. Matters take a more deadly turn after the physician is captured by a dangerously unstable band of militia extremists.
Wesley McClaren
Floyd Chisolm
Pogue
Holly McClaren
Frank
Big Bob
Molly
Col. Harvey
McClaren's Assistant
Young Militiaman
**_Steven Seagal tackles a rebel militia group and a fatal virus in scenic Montana_** A holistic doctor in the town of Ennis (Seagal) seeks to find a cure to a deadly disease unleashed by an unhinged paramilitary leader (Gailard Sartain). Meanwhile, a Federal biological response team seals off the area. "The Patriot” (1998) smacks of a Western-in-the-modern-day, just meshed with elements of “Outbreak” from 3 years earlier. It’s no where near as compelling as that movie (which had twice the budget), but there’s quite a bit to appreciate, like the southwest Montana locations, the commentary on lethal viruses, the expected action sequences and the focus on medicinal plants & traditional medicine over popping pills, not to mention dubious vaccines. Since Seagal is a Conservative who readily exposed the LIEberal “Russian Collusion” propaganda, I wouldn’t take the militia side plot as a demonization of militias or Conservatives. Seagal’s character in the story makes it clear that even a generally positive group of people can be tainted by a wacko leader and misled. The script simply needed a villain and, since there’s no ANTIFA-like groups in small town Montana, the writers opted for the easy target of a militia organization. There’s a siege at the beginning reminiscent of the 51-day Waco siege in 1993, which involved the FBI & ATF’s controversial handling of the Branch Davidian compound. McVeigh had visited Waco during that siege and later described the Fed fiasco as a major factor in his radicalization. I’m sure Gailard Sartain’s character in the story, Floyd Chisolm, was modeled after someone like McVeigh. This marked the beginning of Seagal’s second decade as a lead actor (he starred in ten movies in the previous ten years, 1988-1997, not including his cameo in “My Giant”). The $25 million budget is quite less than the $60 million it cost to make “Under Siege 2,” but it’s way more than his more recent direct-to-video flicks, which cost $5-6 million or less. Yet $25 million is more than enough to make a competent picture, keeping in mind that his most famous film, “Under Siege,” only cost $5 million more than that. It runs 1 hour, 30 minutes, and was shot in Ennis, Montana, as well as nearby Bozeman, which is an hour’s drive to the northwest. GRADE: B-
July 10, 1998
Wesley McClaren
Floyd Chisolm
Pogue
Holly McClaren
Frank
Big Bob
Molly
Col. Harvey
McClaren's Assistant
Young Militiaman
**_Steven Seagal tackles a rebel militia group and a fatal virus in scenic Montana_** A holistic doctor in the town of Ennis (Seagal) seeks to find a cure to a deadly disease unleashed by an unhinged paramilitary leader (Gailard Sartain). Meanwhile, a Federal biological response team seals off the area. "The Patriot” (1998) smacks of a Western-in-the-modern-day, just meshed with elements of “Outbreak” from 3 years earlier. It’s no where near as compelling as that movie (which had twice the budget), but there’s quite a bit to appreciate, like the southwest Montana locations, the commentary on lethal viruses, the expected action sequences and the focus on medicinal plants & traditional medicine over popping pills, not to mention dubious vaccines. Since Seagal is a Conservative who readily exposed the LIEberal “Russian Collusion” propaganda, I wouldn’t take the militia side plot as a demonization of militias or Conservatives. Seagal’s character in the story makes it clear that even a generally positive group of people can be tainted by a wacko leader and misled. The script simply needed a villain and, since there’s no ANTIFA-like groups in small town Montana, the writers opted for the easy target of a militia organization. There’s a siege at the beginning reminiscent of the 51-day Waco siege in 1993, which involved the FBI & ATF’s controversial handling of the Branch Davidian compound. McVeigh had visited Waco during that siege and later described the Fed fiasco as a major factor in his radicalization. I’m sure Gailard Sartain’s character in the story, Floyd Chisolm, was modeled after someone like McVeigh. This marked the beginning of Seagal’s second decade as a lead actor (he starred in ten movies in the previous ten years, 1988-1997, not including his cameo in “My Giant”). The $25 million budget is quite less than the $60 million it cost to make “Under Siege 2,” but it’s way more than his more recent direct-to-video flicks, which cost $5-6 million or less. Yet $25 million is more than enough to make a competent picture, keeping in mind that his most famous film, “Under Siege,” only cost $5 million more than that. It runs 1 hour, 30 minutes, and was shot in Ennis, Montana, as well as nearby Bozeman, which is an hour’s drive to the northwest. GRADE: B-
