Rating: 
Summary: Good action film
Review: An US Navy pilot is shot down during a recon op in the north of Bosnia during the Bosnia-Croatia conflict.Where there the F18 that he and his aviator were flying were done digitally rolling pictures of the ground and vehicles of the Bosnian army as well a common grave of muslims civilians killed by the occuped forces. So the bosnian forces hit the plane with missiles and shot down the aircraft killing after one of the pilots. The Lt Chris Burnett(Wilson) must save his life and run away from the bosnian forces that are trying to locate him. He must get the pickup location in order to get save by the US Marines. Good action and details.
Rating: 
Summary: Military thriller spins out of control
Review: In this interesting military thriller directed by John Moore, Owen Wilson plays a downed navigator being chased by a bunch of rebel Serbian forces. Gene Hackman plays his superior trying desperately to intervene and save the pilot's life, but caught up in the politics of the situation. There are a few subplots that make the story interesting, but they are not worth mentioning. Anyways, the action sequences were pretty strong and Owen Wilson impressed me as a serious actor. The only drawback was that I wanted him to make a few more jokes, which probably would have slowed down the movie. But I have one major problem with the movie: the highly excessive use of the 360 degree panorama spinning shots. I'm sure there is some technical name for it but thats basically what it is. The whole movie is spinning, spinning, spinning. It really got to me after a while. Although it works in some of the scenes, after you see it about a thousand of times, you get just plain dizzy. It really detracted from the enjoyment of the picture.
Rating:
Summary: Fantastic Real Life Knock 'em Down Action Movie
Review: This is probably one of the best military action movies I have ever seen. I especially liked the opening of the movie. It struck me as a little odd as to why Serbian soldiers were planting trees to the backdrop of erie back tingling music. As most people are familiar with the atrocities that the Serbs committed during their reign of carnage and mayhem, then you probably guesed why the soldiers were planting trees. Another aspect of the movie that I liked was the portrayal of the immense difficulties that existed between American and Allied NATO forces in how operations were to be carried out against the Serbs. However, I believe that more information could have been given about the relationship between the French and American Admiral. Although the ending was predictable and somewhat gungho, I feel it was a proper ending. When Hackman joined the Marine team in it's extraction of the downed navigator, it really displayed the humanness of the American Admiral. This movie is a must because it reminds us of the carnage that ensues unleashed terror.
Rating: 
Summary: Behind "DVD To Buy" Lines
Review: I certainly wouldn't recommend this as a movie to buy. Maybe to rent if you're after a mildly entertaining and amusing couple of hours. Amusing in that at the end of the movie you half expect to hear the Top Gun guitar instrumental to start wailing.
I'm a big fan of both the actors but I'd have to say that both seem to be a bit wooden in this movie and bystanders to pretty poor dialogue and some camera techniques which get annoying after a while. Hackman is Hackman though and he's not bad but Wilson despite his talents just seems a bit out of place.
As a side note I'm curious as to know if anyone has heard if the main characters and story are based *very* loosely around something which happened in the Balkans. There was an admiral in charge of NATO operations in Bosnia, who also happened to be a Vietnam-vet like our Hackman, during the rescue of downed airman - Scott O'Grady going back a few years now.
One thing the movie does seem to do well is the portrayal of the sensitivity of the Balkans conflict *in context* with the role of the servicemen - Owen Wilson plays a frustrated fighter jock basically on his last tour of the Balkans, frustrated by the ridiculous rules of engagements placed on him and the overall helplessness of the situation. I was going to say it would've been good if it had delved a bit more into it but that would take another hundred movies in itself. Thinking back now, maybe it didn't need it but, I thought for an action movie it did well to infer some of the issues of US' involvement. There were references to atrocities and if I remember correctly the terrible irony of US servicemen being shot at by CIA-trained and armed soldiers (not unusual).
Rating: 
Summary: Entertaining but implausible.
Review: "Behind Enemy Lines" (2001) Behind Enemy Lines was a movie I went to see purely because nothing else was on. I'd seen almost every movie that was playing and even though I really didn't want to, I went along to see Behind Enemy Lines. There were a lot of reasons I expected to highly dislike this film. I thought it would be just a bunch of mindless excuses for explosions with bad performances (mostly because I don't like Owen Wilson very much) and a way over-long running time. But to my utter surprise, I enjoyed almost every moment of this thrill ride. The main reason Behind Enemy Lines works with its story-line is because it runs two stories at the same time and keeps us enthralled through both of them. The movie has a tendency to leave us in the Owen Wilson-getting-chased-by-baddies' most exciting scenes and change over to the less adrenaline charged but still interesting Gene Hackman-chasing-down-Owen-Wilson's-whereabouts' story. This leaves us hanging on the edge of our seats for more action and gives the movie way more intrigue. The other thing that gives Behind Enemy Lines a kick in the right direction is the stylistic camera-work in the film. We get all kinds of different shots for all kinds of different action sequences. The hand-held camera work is very effective and makes the movie seem more war-like. The cinematography is neat in the way it can show endless styles to shoot scenes within the first hour but find plenty more to finish off the movie. It really shows how cinematography and shooting styles are advancing to new levels these days. Of course, there is nothing more I enjoyed this movie for more than its entertainment value and action sequences. The action scenes are breathtaking and sometimes a little far-fetched but they are amazingly stylish and work into the movies plot in many ways. I especially enjoyed the first major action sequence in which Owen Wilson and a flight buddy dodge, dive and ditch the missiles that the baddies', the Somalians, are sending from the ground. This action sequence is fabulously original and uses a lot of visual and special techniques to get the overall result of one of the tensest scenes of 2001. Unfortunately, the movie does have its problems. If you're looking for a movie with 3 dimensional characters, a plausible story and a lot of believable scenes that come from the heart, then I don't recommend this movie. The barely 1 dimensional "heroic" characters (especially Wilson's character) aren't likeable at the start. Um, Owen, are you completely blind or just stupid? He has just had his plane blown up, fallen through trees, and landed on unknown territory which contains some very dangerous people who were trying to kill him and his fly buddy about 5 minutes ago, and Wilson's character is able to crack smiles and make a joke?... This movie needs lessons in being more plausible, because this movie got a right kick in the pants for that one scene. ... On the subject of lines and quotes, beware for the cheese that comes out of Gene Hackman's mouth in this film. The lines are not atrocious, but they aren't believable or easy to take seriously either. This is one big package with the title ACTION BLOCKBUSTER stamped all over it. I guess you know what that means these days, in short: lots of adventure, lots of fun, but reasonably dumb. MY GRADE: B-
Rating:
Summary: Great effects, great acting, great movie.
Review: What a ride! Amazing flight effects. I really felt the thrill and the terror of being pursued by heat-seeking missiles that just can't be shaken. Great character development for the protagonist, a young sassy airman who puts in for a discharge in the beginning of the movie. Gene Hackman's character is complex and realistic as well, caught between the modern political details of war and the simple commitment to keeping his troops safe. I felt that this movie dealt very well with a lot of the issues and emotions behind the conflict in Kosovo. Two scenes especially bring home what was at stake during these events-when the young airman evades capture by blending in with bodies in a mass grave, and when he is with the Bosnians in Hac (sp?), a town under siege by Milosevic's forces. This is a great modern war movie, and I'd readily recommend it to anyone who's interested in movies about history, the military, or good-old-fashioned exciting action films.
Rating:
Summary: <3.5> Entertaining, But not a Masterpiece
Review: There's not a whole lot to say about 'Behind Enemy Lines'. Even before it was released several months ago, it was clear to me that this would just be another mindless action movie with very little plot and more bullets fired than words spoken. The basic plot of this film--which is very basic, mind you--does little to advance the plot, and the filmmakers rely on action to keep your attention. However, only an hour into the movie I was already beginning to grow bored. You can only watch one man running away from another for so long until your mind starts to wander. The biggest problem with this movie, I felt, was the lack of originality. We've seen all this before in other movies, and it reminded me more of a 'The Rock' meets 'Enemy at the Gates' meets 'Enemy of the State' mixture. This would all be great, yes, considering these are three great films, but I saw little new work that made me say, "Wow, I've never seen that before." Throw that in with shotty dialogue and cameras that just don't want to keep still and you've pretty much got a clear picture of 'Behind Enemy Lines". All in all this is a decent movie, one I was satisfied with after seeing it at budget prices.
Rating:
Summary: Gripping, Realistic, Timely
Review: I enjoyed Behind Enemy Lines very much. The cinematography is fantastic and the acting is amazing. Owen Wilson's performance, in particular, took me by surprise. I didn't realize how talented he is until I saw this film. I think this story is based on actual events. Even though it is dramatized and emotional, the story is told in a very realistic way. It also draws you in. I was not bored for a second. And I bore easily, especially in war and action movies. Thankfully, this film is the right combination between action and plot. I am really interested to hear the director's commentary on the DVD to know more of what goes into making a film like this - I'm sure it was an emotional endeavor for all involved.
Rating:
Summary: Nothing Special .........
Review: Well, we ended up seeing this movie because 'Ocean's Eleven' was sold
out. So we didn't go in with too many expectations, which ensured that
we didn't end up disappointed. The basic plot is this : Owen Wilson's character, a disillusioned Navy
pilot who wants to quit, strays into the enemy territory and is shot
down. He loses his partner, and must now reach the enemy lines for
his commanding officer (Gene Hackman) to try and save him. The rest of the movie is about the game of cat and mouse that ensues
as our hero's pursued by two foes : the forces of the enemy, as well
a mercenary employed by them. Also, rescue plans are repeatedly
thwarted by 'complicated international policies' and 'navy decorum'. Plus points - Owen Wilson's performance. He brings a likeability to
his character that makes you root for him (even if he seems to do
some rather silly things at times!). Gene Hackman's good, too - but
given his calibre and experience, he can do these roles in his sleep.
There's also some great camerawork and a few good action sequences. Minuses - The Bosnian situation seems to be treated rather superficially,
and the enemy are almost caricature like 'bad guys'. Also, there are
several sequences which stretch credibility a fair bit, eg the way the
man on the run keeps dashing off in broad daylight and nothing ever
happens to him; similarly a senior office like Hackman's character going
off in person with the rescue team. All in all, average fare.
Rating:
Summary: simply a great moive
Review: ...This moive is more like a action moive then a war movie. And one more thing the movie is NOT "pretty easy to predict what is going to happen" oh and real cool music to, wish there was a soundtrack, if you know where to get one put it in a review.
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