BEHIND ENEMY LINES

2001

Every once in a while a film comes along that makes you rethink what you know about war, courage and the human spirit. This is not that movie. When a navy pilot is shot down in Bosnia, he must use his wits to avoid his hunters and get to a safe zone to be rescued. What IS really incredible about this movie is how it manages to be dumb on so many different levels. Not that I want to get into detail, but I'm pretty sure walking through wide open fields in the middle of hostile enemy territory is not a good idea. Just a thought. Mix in some atrocious dialogue and lackluster performances by Owen Wilson and Gene Hackman and you have one of the biggest wastes of two hours this year (and that's a lot to say in this year of garbage). On the other had, I will say that the special effects and the editing are very good. The shoot down sequence in the beginning is definitely intense. I still can't recommend sitting through the other 97% of the film, though.

1.5 Stars

CDF

Sure it's exciting and brilliantly photographed, but prior to the War on Terrorism, this would have been categorized as just another improbable military adventure. But, now, after 9/11, everything resonates with a different tone, and even the implausible films come across with the patriotic spirit that we all seem to need. The setting is wartorn Yugoslavia, and the main character, a hotshot, top-gun-like, frat-brat ( a perfectly-cast Owen Wilson,) gets bored on his carrier and, on his last assignment, goes into enemy territory. Predictably, he gets shot down, losing his 40 million plane, and his pilot, and the rest of the film is spent with "everyone" trying to rescue this loser (who should have spent 5 more years in a mall playing video-games waiting to grow up!) It's a good thing that President Bush didn't take this "we must save this American" attitude toward those two girls (Heather and Heather!,) who were trying to sell bibles to the Afghans while they were on their Spring Break! The most unbelievable part of this story (aside from Gene Hackman's agreeing to play his cliched character,) is the scroll at the end that says that it was a true story! To be fair, the acting by Wilson and Hackman is very good, and as I said before, so is the MTV-like photography. But, how many more of these films are going to be thrown at us in the name of patriotism?

3.5 Stars

NJB