Rating: 
Summary: Interesting plot.
Review: Regardless of the politics, this was another usual American-Heroism-People-Rule movie. The plot was very interesting. There were so many points where I thought the movie was going to end, but the plot twisted, and it continued. I didn't like Owen Wilson's acting, he didn't look like a hero to me; and some of the General's speeches were just too rhetorical, things like "I will give up my job to save that boy!" and "We will get you back". They didn't ring much for me. There were some amazing scenes, and great digital effects, not too bad.
Rating: 
Summary: Behind Enemy Lines
Review: I just saw this movie tonight(opening night) and I thought it was the best action movie I have seen at the movie theater this year. The story is about a Navy officer(Owen Wilson) who is about to quit the Navy due to the lack of excitement and the fact that there are wars going on so he only gets to go out in a plane and then come right back. But when the Navy commander(Gene Hackman) sends him out on another mission, Wilson travels into a Bosnia war base where his plane is shot down. After wilson and his partner land, the Bosnians find his partner and kill him, leaving Wilson all alone to defend himslef and try to stay alive behind enemy lines. Every scene has something exciting heppening. There are great twists and the plot is just perfect for a war/action movie. If you are looking for a good action-packed war-type movie, Behind Enemy Lines is the best one to find.
Rating:
Summary: good action and great special effects!
Review: I was very excited to see this movie based on its preview. I would have to say that the movie did not let me down on my expectations. The action was fast-paced and the acting was good. Owen Wilson did a good job, but I could have seen someone else playing the role alittle better. Hackman did well as usual, although some of his roles are beginning to blend together, espcially his military ones (Crimson Tide). The story was believable and while not an instant classic, this film will definately entertain, which is good enough for me.
Rating: 
Summary: Dire !
Review: This film just goes to show how pompous and stupid Americans are ! Not just through the highly stereotyped film but due to the completly DIRE direction.
The scene in which "our boy" arrives at the (first) rendezvous point and radios in, for example, when Hackman looses the radio signal then blares out "where is he ? I need a location" (after he was just told he'd reached the rendezvous point) closely followed by a quick radio conversation with no location whatsoever resulting in everyone going to the same place. The only reason you would want to see this film is to make you feel good that the Americans only came into World War 2 at the last minute! Pedictable and Lame (Soundtrack is ok though Fluke and Feeder both English bands ... how patriotic :) )
Rating:
Summary: Great escapism for the blow 'em up crowd
Review: "Behind Enemy Lines" is a great example of the action film that is so fast-paced, so visually dazzling, and so tense that the viewer doesn't have much time to think about the film itself. Owen Wilson plays battle-untested Navy navigator Chris Burnett who, while on a reconnaissance mission, is shot down over Bosnia. Although both Burnett and his pilot escape alive, it quickly becomes clear they are in extreme danger. While commanding officer Admiral Reigart (Gene Hackman) begins plans for a rescue mission, he is hampered by those in command over him.While the premise itself is formulaic - we've all seen this scenario many, many times - the tight pacing serves the movie well, as the viewer is thrust from one suspenseful scene to another, with barely time to breathe between each. The cinematography supplies a gorgeous texture that contrasts powerfully with the destruction Burnett must both witness and turn from to save his life. Both symbolic of the theme and visually powerful is the enormous statue of the Virgin Mary that Burnett parachutes past, her face beautiful on one side, blown away on the other. Upon seeing this early in the movie, you know that this action film will have its message. This thriller provides great, tense escapism, with people, buildings, and trucks blowing up or being shot to pieces every few minutes. The suspense is aided by several original scenes, such as the heat-sensing satellite images being watched aboard the aircraft by carrier personnel. They can see Burnett being approached but can't understand why his pursuers walk right by him. Unfortunately, if you stop to long to consider things that happen, and how people react, you'll run right smack into implausibilities, clichés, and just plain stupidity. I was torn about how many stars to give this film. I was riveted throughout despite its over-simplification and relative predictability. The strongest feature of this film is its ability to draw the viewer into the plot and keep him there. Just don't think too much about it afterward. Four stars if you want to get lost in an action thriller, three stars if you want something more.
Rating: 
Summary: Not bad for a shoot-em-up "Rambo"-type flick!
Review: This was very entertaining to watch at the theater, but it helps to know just how much of this movie is Hollywood and how much is history. U.S. Air Force Captain Scott O'Grady was shot down on June 2, 1995, flying over the NATO no-fly zone in Bosnia. There was no co-pilot shot down with O'Grady as the movie would have you think, and certainly no American pilots were executed. Despite having sporadic gunfire in the area where he crashed, O'Grady managed to hide out until being rescued a few days later. The rescue mission was indeed very risky, and the helicopter O'Grady was rescued by was hit numerous times by machine-gun fire. And contrary to the movie's depiction of O'Grady, he was a deeply religious man who survived his ordeal by keeping his faith in God strong. If you want the truth about Captain O'Grady, I recommend his great book "Return With Honor". For what it is, this movie is entertaining with plenty of action and suspense, it's just too bad that most Hollywood directors today feel compelled to stretch the truth & rewrite history just to entertain an audiance.
Rating:
Summary: Not for weak minded....
Review: If you're about as sharp as a bowling ball this movie will probably make you want to join the US armed forces. That's also exactly why this movie is so fun. It wasn't even really a 'war' movie, in a sense, but more like an MTV video that happened to have soldiers, pilots, jets, tanks, etc.
The plot is not very deep, but there are some good things under the surface, such as the main character's struggle to find a path, in more ways than one, including personal.
The scenery in this movie is really great, and so is the sound design. Some of the extra features include different footage with different music, so it has a slightly different feel. I think stuff like that is great. The acting is good, too, if at times a hint shallow.
If you don't take this too seriously, which you're not supposed to, you will really enjoy rooting for the good guys in this movie. Have fun.
Rating:
Summary: SURPRISINGLY GOOD IF UNORIGINAL ACTION FLICK
Review: While on a holiday reconnaissance mission with his partner Stackhouse (Gabriel Macht), Navy pilot Chris Burnett (Owen Wilson) spots some trouble in a far off forest. What they end up finding is a virtual graveyard of gruesome corpses that were disposed of by hostile Serbian forces fresh off of a new peace treaty! After snapping some digital photos and then being shot down by some heat seeking missiles , Brunett's partner is brutally massacred by the vicious Serb Tracker (Vladimir Mashkov) while his commander (Olek Krupa) looks on. Soon Burnett has the Serb's tracking him for one sole purpose: assassination! Burnett is able to make radio contact with US Admiral Reigart (Gene Hackman), a tough-as-nails officer who hasn't been very friendly with Burnett in the past but is willing to put aside differences to get his boy home! Unfortunately, Reigart's hands are tied by Admiral Piquet (Joaquim de Almeida), a French NATO officer who shadily puts a halt to Reigart's rescue operations. With time running out and death breathing down his back, Chris Burnett must get himself out of Bosnia and back to the USA before he becomes the next causality of war!
I was pretty surprised I liked this movie as much as I did. It didn't seem to be a role well-suited to Wilson who has generally played more humorous, goofy roles than serious ones. He was actually quite good and while his resourcefulness in eluding his persuers stretchs the bounds of believeability, it's still a fun ride.
The enemies are the usual, stereotypical sneering, evil bad guys, not unlike the type you'd see in any old WWII movie and frankly they are not all that interesting and played as being rather thick-witted dullards who spray hundreds of bullets without being able to hit anything. Hackman is really just along for the ride in this one.
Behind Enemy Lines includes a nice array of extra materials. Starting off the disc is two commentary tracks, the first by director John Moore and editor Martin Smith, the second by producers John Davis and Wyck Godfrey. The first track by the director and editor is rather interesting (both have head colds, so they sound very congested). Each of these guys seem fairly impressed with the film, and the most interesting thing I pulled out of this was the discussion of Don Davis' (The Matrix) music score which the director thought was a bit experimental for an action movie. The second commentary by the producers includes a lot of production information, though I found it to be a bit drier than the first track. Combined, both of these tracks should provide fans with a wealth of information about the movie.
The behind-the-scenes featurette on the making of Behind Enemy Lines is your basic promo piece, though it does include some fairly cool interviews with some US Navy workers, Owen Wilson, director John Moore, and a few other cast and crew members. Not only did Owen Wilson star in the film, but he also had the chance to go supersonic on a real life aircraft! Lucky dog. Five deleted/extended scenes are included along with an alternate opening and end credit sequences. The deleted scenes are all fun to watch, though it's obvious why they were left of the editing floor, as they don't add much to the action or the story. The true gem here is the alternate end credits sequence that shows a chilling finale for the lead bad guy and the victims of the mass grave in Bosnia. The "Pre-Vis Ejection Sequence" is a look at one of the big actions scenes in the film before it was finalized (i.e., the use of computers, drawings and models is present). It's nice to have this on the disc, though I don't think I'll ever watch it more than once.
Simple...but entertaining.
Rating:
Summary: Behind Enemy Lines
Review: This film featured at the get-go some incredible camera work which continued throughout the film and the three main characters were very well acted, how can you go wrong with Gene Hackman and good ol' Owen Wilson? Well, you can if you use a lousy script. Where this film falls to pieces is in the script, message and character development departments. The film came off as a blatant feature-length enlistment commercial for the Navy/Air Force, replete with the rock-video style shots and jarring action-footage. But....it gets worse, the plot features a main character who wants to resign from the Navy because he hasnt had the opportunity to fly combat missions. Although I imagine that this could be a problem in real life for these highly trained professionals Owen's character comes off to me as chillingly shallow even though he plays it well.
It gets even worse, the two main characters are men who find no problems in "free-jacking" or going "off-mission". Now, I appreciate the fact that society needs people like these at times as much as it needs people who obey orders well. My problem is that the film mindlessly glorifies these character traits as somehow noble and heroic without CLEARLY revealing the complex repercussions that often occur as a result of these types of activities. Because of the times we live in, I found this quite chilling despite the supposed noble outcome of Wilson's character's actions. The jingoistic overly simplified telling of this story is grotesquely misleading about the complexities of war and the attendant international politics! This is a film with no soul.
Rating:
Summary: It's Alright for a War Movie
Review: I must say I'm not usually a fan of war movies but this one was quite entertaining. I'd have to give this movie extremely high marks in cinematography, action, and casting however it was somewhat lacking in plot. Owen Wilson and Gene Hackman give a great performance. The only reason this movie did not succeed in the theatres was that people are tired of all the war movies. This one is better then most.
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