Behind Enemy Lines
Published February 7, 2025
Film info
- Title Behind Enemy Lines
- Director John Moore
- Year 2001
- Run time 1hr 46m
- Genres Drama, War, Action, Thriller
- Tagline His only weapon is his will to survive
US Navy helicopter pilot Lt Chris Burnett is part of the NATO force observing the peace treaty during the conflict in former Yugoslavia. Bored with routine duties, he flies off his designated route and spots Serb forces breaching the peace agreement, but they spot him too and down his craft. Behind enemy lines and with the Serbs on his trail, his only hope is that his commander sends in a rescue mission.
Live blog
| Time | Comment |
|---|---|
| 2:05 | Bonus bit of Top Gun. |
| 5:49 | The ball thing has blown my mind but bonus points for a Wilson reference. |
| 15:50 | Good tune! It’s got a CD Player! |
| 19:30 | Tanks! |
| 27:01 | Don’t leave him out in the middle of a field, hide in the trees, surely. |
| 31:47 | “He’s afraid,” and they laugh, as if anyone wouldn’t be in that situation. |
| 41:47 | They are USELESS at this no-names business. |
| 59:15 | The tripwire sequence was amazing! |
| 59:33 | First sighting of a woman in this film. |
| 1:06:11 | International sign for ‘did you fall out of the sky’. |
| 1:28:44 | The icy conditions are making me cold just watching. |
Thoughts
Mixed feelings about this film. At the end of it, a recommendation came up for Pearl Harbour and I can totally understand why. It has that same US are the heroes and did nothing wrong and that’s all you need to know feeling to it. You have to keep that in mind as you watch, this is a very one-sided point of view.
On the other hand, I don’t know much about this conflict and you don’t see many films about it, so that’s a positive point - you don’t necessarily learn a lot about what’s happened or motivations or anything, but it’s always a starting point to have something portrayed on screen. Owen Wilson does a great job considering he’s more well known for comedy, and Gene Hackman is in his element here.
Some of the camera work is jarring, trying to be jittery for the sake of it, but there are some sequences that are brilliant. The tripwire explosions were brilliant, and the tensions created just be two people running was great. So hit and miss, but overall an entertaining film.
Rating: 3 / 5