Behind Enemy Lines

CinemaSerf 9/2/2023 7:41:56 AM 8.4

Owen Wilson is a disillusioned pilot aboard an American aircraft carrier. Bored with the relentlessness of it all, he puts in his papers to the chagrin of his commanding officer. With two weeks left to go, he is flying a reconnaissance mission over Bosnia when he is shot down, his pilot murdered by rogue troops and he is forced to flee for his life - pursued by a ruthless sniper - whilst his task force colleagues try to find and rescue him. Based on a true story, it is actually quite a well paced manhunt with plenty of peril and pace. What diminishes it is the really poor choice of actor to lead. Wilson plays the disinterested flier well enough at the start, but as things heat up on the ground he really isn't good enough to hold the film up en seul. Gene Hackman is his boss (Adm. Reigert), and he isn't really up to very much either - though he does do the slightly gung-go "go get our boy back" role well enough. The premiss of the genocide being perpetrated on the locals is writ large, and having seen much news coverage at the time of this largely forgotten Balkan war, the story is not without it's potency. It is quite watchable, but is still a somewhat light-weight depiction of a truly difficult situation.