Rating: 
Summary: Pleasing Action Thriller!
Review: This is a very entertaining and visually pleasing film, one that will capture your interest and propel it along for the almost two hours of the movie. Yet it is really just an escape movie that happened to be released in the aftermath of the 911 events, and so capitalized on the pent-up feelings of patriotism everyone was experiencing at the time. As a thinly disguised although highly fictionalized representation of an actual case of an American flier rescued after evading the Serbs for several days during the Bosnian police action, this might have made some sense. Yet the depiction of the Serb ground forces as brutal and conscienceless bogeymen is a bit overdone and not very accurate; most of the Serbs treated downed American fliers with consideration and in a very friendly manner. Of course, had this been depicted as part of the Kosovo effort, the scenes depicting the Serbs might have been more accurate. As it stands, however, the story is hardly representative of the reality on the ground during the Bosnian campaign.
Still, taken at face value as action entertainment, the movie isn't half-bad. Yet as anything like serious drama it has too many implausible elements and too many coincidences to hold water. So, while this is no "to Hell And Back', it is an exciting escapist excursion you will enjoy watching. The scenes filmed on the carrier are especially graphic and well done, and the shots of the planes coming off the deck are breath taking. So too the aerial photography is very well choreographed and accomplished, and the action shots of the plane being engaged by ground batteries fairly realistic in its technical details. The cast is quite good, with Owen Wilson playing the downed flier and Gene Hackman the Carrier skipper who is trying to get him back. This is good stuff to wile away a Saturday evening as long as you don't take any of it too literally. Enjoy!
Rating:
Summary: Behind Enemy lines (BEL)
Review: If you are looking for a realistic war movie then you are in the wrong place. But if you are looking for some escapist patriotic entertaiment then Behind Enemy Lines is may be what you are looking for. What made this movie more apealing was during the time of it's release, when many Americans just needed to be away from the real world for a couple hours. The story takes place in the Balkans where a routine recon flight is taking place. The pilot and his "Wizzo" (weapons intelligents officer) decided to investigate some activity in the no fly zone. To their horror they are shot down and now the Wizzo (Owen Wilson) must track through hostile territory to reach a safe zone where he can be rescued. The film does however belittle the American Allies (the French) which may irritate non-American viewers. But the film is alot of fun to watch. Rent it, but I would not recommend purchasing it unless if you are into action films
Rating: 
Summary: 1/3 speed ahead...
Review: The trick with this movie is simple, just follow these easy steps to really enjoy it. 1. Watch the first third of it because it's amazing air combat scenes, the movie is very, very promising, perhaps the only objectionable thing is the use of a 2 seater F-18 (not technically accurate), but is a valid dramatic license in order to have the history develop down the road. 2. Once the first third is done, step up to your DVD player, press the eject button, grab the disc and store it away never to be used again. From the point when the grounded pilot starts being chased by the "bad guys" the movie goes down faster than a pilotless F-18. As a sample, at one point or "heroe" gets rescued by a Coke drinking, rap fan, resistance fighter... Coke in a war zone ?!? Ice-T (or was it Ice Cube) t-shirts available in a war zone ?!? Clearly the producers have never bothered to research the real misery that takes place in a real war zone and is almost disrespectful !
To add insult to injury, no other than the USS Carl Vinson commanding officer himself goes to retrieve a downed pilot... anybody sees the error on this ?!? Terrible movie, I was invited to the movie theater to watch it and still want my money back !
Rating:
Summary: Great story
Review: Behind Enemy Lines is a good movie with the same holes and problems that one finds with any movie that simulates real life military operations. The storyline is just great it moves quickly and the movie is really over before you even know it. It follows the experiences of a Navy navigator pilot (played by Owen Wilson). When his plane is shot down and his pilot murdered Burnett must do everything he can to stay alive. Although there are several very corny lines by Gene Hackman the movie has generally a very good plot. If you enjoy watching Owen Wilson this is a great movie.
Rating:
Summary: Action-Packed!
Review: After having seen a ton of war movies in the past few years, I went into "Behind Enemy Lines" with very few expectations. However, to my surprise, the movie was thrilling from start to finish! The feeling of desperation and fear behind enemy lines is felt throughout the whole escapade, and the movie launches from one scene to the next with hardly time for the viewer to catch his breath. Owen Wilson, who produced arguably mixed performances in laughable movies (pun unintended) such as Shanghai Noon and Zoolander, actually does a credible job delivering the pulsating action right to your doorstep. You truly feel for him, and any attempts to empathize with his plight only serve to intensify the fear. Director John Moore is on top form, and cleverly uses Gene Hackman as a mirror to illustrate the war that is concurrently taking place within the confines of the political arena. Hackman, who is superb as Wilson's commanding officer, exposes the true irony of the society that we live in. Many a time, as we have seen throughout history, mankind will typically do what is best for their own selfish cause, rather than what is necessary to preserve human life and ensure justice. In their attempt at justification, the powers-that-would-be claim that the needs of one should be sacrificed for the needs of many. This is none more so apparent than when politics is concerned, and Hackman constantly wages a moral battle between disobeying direct orders and sacrificing a man's life. While the action sequences, populated with spectacular explosions, are both stunning and enjoyable, hard-nosed critics will still be able to find minor faults with the movie. But as a viewer with pure entertainment in mind, the intense action and gripping drama make this one movie not to be missed!
Rating:
Summary: decent but uninspired action film
Review: **1/2 In the opening scene of "Behind Enemy Lines," Navy pilot Chris Burnett and his flight buddy - affectionately known as "Stackhouse" - indulge in a little pre-flight gallows humor as they recall various famous rock performers who have met their ends in plane crashes. Is it any surprise, then, that these two jocular jocks will face the prospect of a similar fate before too many more scenes have played themselves out? Indeed, it turns out that, not long afterwards, both Burnett and Stackhouse are shot down by the Serbians while flying a reconnaissance mission over what is supposed to be a de-militarized zone in Bosnia. Only Burnett survives and he is forced to hot foot it over miles of difficult and unfamiliar terrain while being pursued by sniper forces bent on his annihilation. Gene Hackman co-stars as Burnett's hardnosed - but actually soft-hearted - commanding officer who is forced to decide between keeping the terms of a fragile NATO-imposed peace agreement, thereby leaving Burnett to fend for himself in the wild, or saying to hell with the treaty and rescuing one of his own men as his gut instincts tell him to do. If "Behind Enemy Lines" turns out to be a fairly decent action picture, it is attributable almost entirely to the likeability factor emanating, as always, from actor Owen Wilson. With his Average Joe persona, Wilson takes Burnett out of the realm of superhero and makes him a character we can identify with - this despite the fact that the number of hairbreadth escapes that Burnett manages to pull off strain our credulity far beyond the breaking point. Wilson is also aided by the flashy visual technique employed by director John Moore, which helps to cover up the fact that the screenplay has really very little character development taking place under its action-movie surface. We might also object to the fact that the script never even attempts to come to terms with the complex nature of the Bosnian conflict, choosing instead to reduce the issue to as simplistic a sociopolitical level as possible. The film also suffers from a sort of built-in monotony factor, endemic to most man-on-the-run narratives. This is especially aggravated - as it is in this film - when the chase is taking place in a foreign country with very few of the people our hero encounters able to communicate with him much beyond simple phrases and gestures. The cinematography does a tremendous job capturing the stark beauty of the film's bleak, wintertime setting. Unfortunately, the adrenaline-pumping rock music soundtrack tends to not only undercut the sense of realism created by the photography, but to cheapen the serious and tragic real life events that define the film's historical context. Perhaps the bitter war in Bosnia is simply too recent and too fresh in our minds to serve as an excuse for yet another rah-rah tale of American ingenuity and virtue. I
Rating:
Summary: BEHIND ENEMY LINES
Review: GREAT WAR FILM NEAR AS POSSIBLE TO THE TRUTH, AS YOU CAN GET.
AGAIN COULD IT HAVE BEEN SO, YOU TELL ME??
Rating: 
Summary: Full of clichés...
Review: I really wanted to like the movie more than I did. The premise is promising but as the story unfolded, I realized that nearly every cliché used in war movies appear here. The two that got on my nerves were: the use of the ever-popular "flashback" and worst of all, the "I'll put my American uniform on a dead guy and I'll escape in his Bosnian uniform" moment. Wow. I saw that one coming from a MILE away! The plot is contrived, yet in some moments, pretty exciting.
Rating:
Summary: Really it's like 2.5 stars.
Review: Who decided that Owen Wilson could be an action star? He doesn't work as one. He should stick to comedy and helping Wes Anderson create genius movies. This movie is ridiculous and predictable and I really never felt myself pulling for Wilsons character. Actually I found myself saying "it would be cool if he died right here." But like I said, it's predictable so that never happened. Not the worst movie, but not that great of one either.
Rating: 
Summary: Rambo-style B movie
Review: Our blonde blue eyed all-American hero overcomes odds beyond even those of James Bond while fighting evil Serbians who are butchering innocent Bosnian muslims. The non-American Nato commander is a political stooge and the non-American Nato forces are incompetent of course. However, in the end, our American Admiral leaves behind his fleet to personally lead a rescue mission. Our hero single handedly fights off the Serbian Army with his 9mm pistol. I have personally been to the places where this movie is supposed to take place. I have been on the same passenger train from Thessalonika Greece to Belgrade that was bombed by US jets, killing women, children, and other civilians. I have met Bosnians, Serbians, and Muslims and have first hand knowledge of their situations. Nothing is as black-and-white as this film pretends it is. No one is completely innocent, nor is any one completely guilty. This is a conflict that has gone on for centuries, and all sides had their reasons for doing what they did. Just a little note about the land mines. In one scene, a Serbian soldier steps on a land mine and alerts our American hero to the presence of enemy troops. NOT! I have been in a mined area and most of the explosions are not due to human activity, but rather to deer and rabbits. There is no way he could have known that it was the enemy and not some stray animal. This is a movie filled with mindless action. Great if you like that sort of thing, but it is not for me.
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