It gives filmgoers a chance to cheer, but seems contrived to do just that.
Behind Enemy Lines (2001)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:127
Fresh:46
Rotten:81
Average Rating:4.7/10
Consensus: The plot for Behind Enemy Lines is more jingoistic than credible, and the overload of flashy visual tricks makes the action sequences resemble a video game.
Runtime: 1 hr 46 mins
Genre: Action/Adventure
Synopsis: On a reconnaissance flight over eastern Europe, disillusioned naval pilot Chris Burnett (Owen Wilson) and his partner, Stackhouse (Gabriel Macht), photograph a scene they were not meant to see.... On a reconnaissance flight over eastern Europe, disillusioned naval pilot Chris Burnett (Owen Wilson) and his partner, Stackhouse (Gabriel Macht), photograph a scene they were not meant to see. When their plane is shot down and Stackhouse is quickly captured and executed, Burnett must struggle to survive in unfamiliar hostile territory with a cold-blooded assassin and hundreds of enemy troops on his heels. Meanwhile, on an American battleship in the Adriatic Sea, Burnett's commanding officer, Admiral Reigart (Gene Hackman), attempts to negotiate his soldier's return amidst tense political and military maneuvers. Soon Burnett discovers exactly why he's being hunted, making his situation--and Reigert's actions--even more perilous. Benefiting from Wilson's straightforward performance and Hackman's typically engaging presence, BEHIND ENEMY LINES proves itself with a solid story (loosely based on real-life events) and excellent action sequences. Shot in a cold, icy light, John Moore's film features a nail-biting aerial chase, a tense race across a grenade-filled wasteland, and a stunningly explosive final battle. Wilson, typically cast in quirky comedic roles, is an unlikely action hero who turns out to be the movie's secret weapon. By avoiding excessive macho posturing, BEHIND ENEMY LINES is smarter, more exciting, and better looking than most Hollywood military thrillers. [More]
Starring: Owen Wilson, Gene Hackman, Gabriel Macht, Charles Malik Whitfield
Starring: Owen Wilson, Gene Hackman, Gabriel Macht, Charles Malik Whitfield, Joaquim de Almeida, David Keith, Olek Krupa, Vladimir Mashkov
Director: John Moore
Director: John Moore
Screenwriter: Zak Penn, David Veloz, John Thomas, James Thomas
Producer: John Davis
Composer: Don Davis
Studio: 20th Century Fox
Reviews for Behind Enemy Lines
[Wilson's] not 100 percent Dignan, but he's close enough that those who cherish the Dignan character will be enchanted.
A slickly entertaining war movie that's sometimes striking, sometimes silly -- but never, ever boring.
Improbable and manipulative as the story may be, the thrills keep coming, the action mounts and the tension builds, taking the viewer along for a wild ride.
An example of the kind of crass Hollywood moviemaking that used to be accepted without question.
A highly competent, if inflated, action flick that offers us war from every vantage.
Wilson plays the role with a constant smirk and spends the majority of his time running through explosions and avoiding clichéd enemies.
This preposterous military thriller doesn't even make an effort to be believable.
Any thrills Behind Enemy Lines generates are hollow at best and are ultimately rendered meaningless by the movie's unabashed jingoism.
It's disappointing that the movie doesn't pack anything more potent than slow-motion, flag-waving montages to make its patriotic point.
Its hero is so reckless and its villains so incompetent that it's a showdown between a man begging to be shot, and an enemy that can't hit the side of a Bos-nian barn.
Pure verve and energy and will make you want to run out and sign up tomorrow.
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