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Behind Enemy Lines

Behind Enemy Lines

List Price: $14.98
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Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Average action flick, under-used actors
Review: It is a very entertaining film, and Hackman & Wilson are great in it. What the movie lacks is "impact" if you will. Burnt out soldier goes out of territory, gets shot down by bad guys. The rest of the movie is minimal dialog, only average suspense, and overall pretty formula action movie. The sets & action itself are great, but after the movie it doesn't leave you with any aftertaste. An hour+ of chase, they save him, bad guys get it. Next please...

With a name like Hackman & the obvious talents of Owen Wilson, more could have been done, but it's a great movie for sittin' in front of the boob tube & not having to think or pay attention much. Some of the DVD's deleted scenes should have been left in the movie (actual dialog which the film lacks) and more behind the scenes would have been nice to see, the visual aspects of this were great.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: "Never leaving behind a fallen comrade,no matter the odds."
Review: Actual rating : ***1\2 .

Before I decided to rent "Behind Enemy Lines" , I'd thought to myself : "Eran , the summer is upon us , it's a very hot and dry evening , what could be better than watching a good action movie ? " . Was I right ! This film gave me exactly what I'd wanted - pure , well-done , often mindless action - but it has more to it .
Significance -
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Despite its nature , one must not assume this motion picture has no purpose , not by a long shot . My friends , this movie , as its name implies , takes in hand the very serious matter of a soldier that is caught in hostile territory and is counting on his government to come for the rescue . As one might predict , things do not develop smoothly , and our fallen hero has to wander around for quite sometime , because of political considerations .

This story has been told more than once in previous films , having "First Blood - Part II" as being the most famous , as far as I can remember : The U.S. government decided to leave Rambo behind at the rendezvous point on account of , again , political reasons .

However , these occurrences are not just fiction and exist in reality as well , even in Israel ; Two years ago , in the early days of the second Intifada , the Palestinians , in "Yosef Grave" in the vicinity of Nablus, seriously wounded and surrounded a young Israeli soldier, named Madhat Yousef . I remember hearing the advancement of the Israeli endeavors in "doing something and bringing him safely home" . These efforts proved unsuccessful because the Palestinians wouldn't let the I.D.F evacuate him peacefully ...

I was afraid that all the kind of things you generally see in the above movies would become a harsh reality . As a nation , we didn't want to believe that the political agenda - of not wanting to escalate the conflict that was re-emerging , once again , by an engagement of a full-time military rescue mission -would prevail . Nevertheless , in reality bad things happen , and Yousef was left to die .

The Israeli government allegedly decided he was expendable , as both Rambo and this movie's pilot ; the inhuman consideration of cost versus utility indicated the price tag that would assure his rescue was too high ... I recall I couldn't believe it was happening : it was all like a bad dream I wanted to wake up from .

I believe these kind of desicions and impotent actions are sins and brutal-irresponsible betrayals . "Behind Enemy Lines" points at the same direction , and goes the whole nine yards : it preaches that the men directly in charge must do everything , including disregarding superior commanders' and political leaders' direct orders to realize one of the Rangers' honorable mottos of "Never leaving behind a fallen comrade , no matter the odds or the enemy".

This is the main message of this film . Personally , I like this message , but don't know if it can really stand the test of reality . In Israel it didn't , hopefully for the last time . I assume one cannot judge a field commander since the price is so high as the film demonstrates eventually .

In the end , I do hope this story would give some food for thought to persons that could find themselves in similar situations in the future to come . If the film has managed to accomplish such end , it has surely been a lot more than the ordinary action flick .

The plot -
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At the first 15 minutes the movie touches the delicate issue of the frustration and boredom the American soldiers around the world go through being the police officers of the world , yet not engaging real combat or meaningful actions most of the time . The rest of the movie is dedicated to showing the severe consequences of such feelings .

Our hero is a Navy navigator (Owen Wilson) that during a regular flight patrol above Bosnia , decides to investigate suspected activity outside the course of his original mission (the consequence of the above feelings). This deviation comes with a grave punishment when his plane is targeted and hit by enemy's missiles .

The attempts to dodge the missiles are fantastic - there has been a while since I was so tensed and thrilled - in matters of photographing , sound and maneuvers - this is one of the top performances Hollywood has orchestrated in years .

The two are hit , manage to abort , but the enemy catches the pilot . That leaves our hero all alone and on the run . On his way we witness some of the atrocities that land had to bear through the horrible war a few years ago . As mentioned , the rescue missions are delayed again and again , due to the region's political agenda , bringing in the extra value I discussed earlier .

In the end , Gene Hackman , the Carrier's admiral , takes matters into his own hands , to come up with a impressive finale .

The cast -
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Owen Wilson , as the young navigator , is not the typical macho man you'd expect and that was a surprise to me too . Rather , he's an ordinary likeable fellow , with the knowledge of survival techniques and great amount of luck ... Look , he's not acting that different from the way he acted in "Shanghais Noon" , I don't suppose he really can . I think it is this that makes the story more appealing than the familiar "run and hide" type of films .

Gene Hackman , long after his prime , gives a good portrayal of his character's inability and powerlessness at first , then his pains and dilemmas , and ultimately his resolution of doubts and action .

The DVD -
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The quality of the picture is obvious and great as always .
as for the extra material , it's worthless : they have put in all the editor's cut scenes of the bloody and gory images you really wouldn't want to see . This abortion made the film a PG-13 in my opinion .

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In all , this movie is a living proof that action films can stand for something , rather than only violence and carnage .

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: A solid thriller
Review: Behind Enemy Lines is an entertaining and intelligent action/thriller starring Gene Hackman and Owen Wilson. Wilson stars a man in the military who's plane goes down "behind enemy lines", and Hackman is his superior desperatly trying to get him to safety. This movie kept me on the edge of my seat, and suprised me with a few twists. Definitley a great film, I would give it four and a half stars if possible. This movie is worth your time and money for sure, even if you buy it on DVD.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Popcorn Movie, and then Some
Review: This movie introduces Owen Wilson in the world of action stars. It is a different role than what he's used to, that be a comedic role in such films as "Shanghai Noon", "Meet the Parents", "The Royal Tenenbaums" and "Zoolander" to name a few. In the end, he makes a great transition to this genre.

This is basically a war thriller that keeps it pretty simple. He's an American pilot shot down in Eastern Europe, and he's trying to survive until help can get to him. The filming adds some Matrix-esque slowed down reality filming, and there's also some playing around with the audio, similar to "Saving Private Ryan" after being shell-shocked.

Other than that, the film is a straight-forward, entertaining film. There is also a minor performance by Gene Hackman which is nothing special, but he adds to the whole of the movie.

All in all, this is an enjoyable movie that moves quickly and is always keeping your attention with action and drama...a good film.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: A good action film
Review: Sure Behind Enemy Lines may not have the best acting, but it does deliver what it intended to. That is a fun-filled movie with non-stop action and laden with special effects. I really enjoyed it and think that it is definately worth a rental. Although it may not be the most realistic of movies, it certainly is a wild ride. Check it out.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: A fun ride that is at least worth a rental
Review: Sure Behind Enemy Lines may not have the best acting seen in a movie, and it certainly doesn't have the greatest plot in the world, but it still does deliver what it intended to, and that is a good action film that is full of non-stop action and laden with special effects. I really enjoyed it and I think it is definately worth a rental. Although this movie may not be the very realistic at times, it certainly is a wild ride. Check it out.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Excellent Gene Hackman--and I don't like Gene Hackman!
Review: This was a surprisingly thrilling story about the rescue of an American pilot in the war in Bosnia. The pilot's mission was to take photographs of the, "Killing fields.". Upon rescue of the pilot, he also manages to rescue the photographs. The Serbs are the bad guys. There is no gray.

The movie is loaded with special effects and explosions. Gene Hackman is pretty good in this one, even I have to admit. I liked the actor, Owen Wilson, who played the pilot. He looked and acted very different than most male actors would, especially in a military role. He seemed like an average, regular guy, with a normal personality, which I felt drew a lot of credibility and sympathy from me, to his character.

The film was based on a true incident. Some of the technology shown was amazing. I hope for our sake that we really have such capability.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Fantastic
Review: Behind Enemy Lines was not another one of those war-type movies where some guy gets shot down in his airplane. It had much more to it than that. It wasnt predictable, it was an edge of your seat thriller. Behind Enemy Lines had a perfect plot, and a perfect ending. Owen Wilson and Gene Hackman did an excellent job, as did the other actors and actresses of this film. When two pilots decide to fly over an area that they aren't supposed to fly over, their plane camera takes pictures of missles and illegal doings. They are seen and are shot down, after an incredible fight, and his friend is shot. Now Owen Wilson is running for his life, and can only rely on his instincts, and those people who are instructing him from afar. It is a perfect hide and seek type movie...it is action packed and full of excitement. That is why I have given this movie such a high rating. Behind Enemy Lines was shocking, powerful, and an excellent film.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Banal
Review: An action film without much action and too little complexity to be anything else. While the dogfight which sees Burnett (Owen Wilson) crash-landing in Eastern Europe is thrillingly good, once he's on the ground the screenplay just wanders and to no place very interesting. Wilson is many things, but an action hero isn't one of them - in this genre, his gormless everyman routine just doesn't fly. Gene Hackman does his usual military thing with the usual lukewarm results, and respected Russian actor-director Vladimir Mashkov is simply wasted as the nameless tracker (though he does get to wear a nice tracksuit). The laughable climax must be seen to be believed.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Great Action Flick (Hey, I'm a girl, and I liked it!)
Review: This was a great movie! Great cinamatography, great casting, great acting, great graphics, great plotline, great story. Every few seconds I was telling my boyfriend (who hadn't seen it) "Oh this is the best part!" It is so well done with the stop action and the thing with the statue in the beginning is so cool. I loved this movie...it freaked me out and made me go "YEA!" I recommend this movie to anyone! And girls, if your a chick flick person, watch it anyway, because you'll say "I'm just watching it for him" but in the end you'll be all "that was awesome!" Behind Enemy Lines is one of my all time favorites.


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