|
.. |
|
BEHIND ENEMY LINES
Review by Gordon Justesen
Stars: Owen Wilson,
Gene Hackman, Joaquim De Almeida, David Keith, Olek Krupa
Director: John Moore
Audio: Dolby Digital 5.1, DTS 5.1, Spanish Dolby Surround
Video: Anamorphic Widescreen 2.35:1
Studio: 20th Century Fox
Features: See Review
Length: 105 Minutes
Release Date: April 23, 2002
“Evade
and survive, and WE WILL BRING YOU HOME!”
Film ***
Behind Enemy Lines
launched what turned out to be an endless array of war movies that seem to come
out once a week in the wake of the 9/11 attack. There was also The
Last Castle, which was released earlier, but it was more of a prison movie.
We’ve had this movie, Black Hawk Down,
Hart’s War, We Were Soldiers, and the forthcoming John Woo flick, Windtalkers. While I would rank this movie behind the three
aforementioned films, this is a perfect film for people to see as both an
exercise of the American spirit, and those seeking a pure rush of adrenaline.
Set in what I assume is present day Bosnia, the movie
starts by introducing its reluctant hero, Lt. Chris Burnett (Owen Wilson), who
finds serving in the Navy to be something of a joke. He wants to serve his
country, but he finds that difficult to accomplish when there is no war to be
fought. Requesting to leave the Navy in two weeks, with Admiral Reigart (Gene
Hackman) advising him to consider otherwise, Burnett is sent on a surprise recon
mission on Christmas day. During this routine assignment, he and his co-pilot,
Stackhouse (Gabriel Macht) venture off mission and receive images of mass grave
and illegal troop maneuvering. When the ground troops, who turn out to be Serbs,
spot the plane, they fire two missiles, and within minutes, their plane is shot
down, in an effects sequence that is very much astonishing.
After the two pilots eject successfully from the plane and
land on Bosnian ground, Burnett runs for help, but soon witnesses the enemy
Serbs execute his co-pilot in cold blood, and then he finds himself on the run
from them, as they follow his every movie. Meanwhile, on board the USS Carl
Vinson, Reigart is trying to do what he can to get together a rescue squad, but
he is ordered by NATO superiors not to do so, as it would cause current peace
talks to disintegrate. Funny how this and my previously reviewed Spy
Game share the idea of sacrificing human lives for the sake of simple peace
talks. Reigart, on the other hand, doesn’t understand letting one of his men
alone to die.
Meanwhile, Burnett is running for his life from a vicious
Serb assassin (Vladimir Maskov), who has been assigned by his military leader,
Lokar (Olek Krupa) to kill the American soldier. In one review that was not kind
to the movie, the critic noted that Wilson’s character and the villainous
assassin resembled that of the Road Runner and Wyle E. Coyote, which is in some
cases true. Wherever Burnett goes, the villains appear right away, and Burnett
eludes successfully. It was a funny aspect of the film. It may make it sound a
bit silly, but the movie remains fun from my point of view. One action scene
that really blew me away was one where Burnett eludes his enemies through an
abandoned factory rigged with tripwire bombs.
Owen Wilson has long been a strong supporting presence in
many numerous movies (Meet the Parents,
Armageddon, Zoolander), and Behind
Enemy Lines marks the actor’s first leading role. I’ve been very pleased
that Wilson is finally getting the recognition he deserves, because I’ve been
a fan of his ever since I first saw him in the independent fave Bottle
Rocket. Chances are, after the success of this film, we’ll be seeing much
more of him. For an action hero, he provides the right touch of both humor and
seriousness, much like the way Bruce Willis approached his action hero
characterization of John McClane in Die
Hard. His Chris Burnett is not a superman of any kind, but rather that of an
everyman whose caught in a situation he just wants to see his way out of.
Both a nice dose of action adrenaline, as well as a very patriotic movie, Behind Enemy Lines gets the job done a hundred percent in both delivering thrills and extracting a sense of true American spirit and heroism.
Fox rides high once again
with their endless list of DVD triumphs with this glowing transfer. This
anamorphic presentation gets the picture right in every frame possible. Picture
quality is a hundred percent crisp and clear throughout, and colors, which range
from dark grays to illuming bright blues, are vibrant all the way. With the
action taking place outdoors, the sets and action appear even more exciting.
A pure blast of Fox brilliance! Behind Enemy Lines is a movie made of fast and furious action, thus includes an equal type of audio sound to it, and the 5.1 audio mix perfects this notion in the highest form. Surround sound is very much the case here, as all channels do a great job of pick up, especially in the action scenes, and the sudden sounds to go along nicely with the frenetic editing, is wonderfully captured as well. One of the best audio jobs I’ve heard all year!
Lots to look at. First off, there are two commentaries, one
with director John Moore and editor Martin Smith, and one with producers John
Davis and Wyck Godfrey. Also included is a behind the scenes featurette,
extended/deleted scenes with optional commentary, a pre-vis look at the ejection
sequence, and a trailer for the upcoming Tom Cruise/Steven Spielberg release, Minority
Report.
Summary: