Last night Behind enemy lines was on Film Four and I thought I’d give it ago, I had never heard of the film before and so did not know what to expect, I always give the info on the TV a read before getting into a new film as unfortunately I am one of the Biased people of the world who find a film more worth trying if it has good actors and a good synopsis. Judging a book by its cover and all that (slap on the wrists).

First impressions

Before the film had started I had my doubts, the cast of actors includes Owen Wilson, and after seeing more than a fair share of his films, I was doubtful to whether he could pull off what was being described on the TV info as an ‘action/thriller’ I have never seen him in a serious role and although this gave doubts it also intrigued me into seeing the film and made me want to see if he would fail or succeed to keep the genre of the movie sincere.

I have recently started to really enjoy war films and most action films, so I was also looking forward to seeing what the director could pull out of the bag with Behind Enemy Lines, therefore the film was given my full attention the full way through.

Plot

The story is about a Navy ship which is stationed near Bosnia with Gene Hackman as the admiral and Owen Wilson plays an uncomfortable Navy Lieutenant plane navigator who is looking to leave the force for good in a fortnight because the Navy offers him no excitement. He is paired with his partner ‘Stackhouse’ who is his close friend and pilot.

Owens’ character, Burnett, goes on a Christmas Day flight and ends up with his plane being brought down by an unidentified group of terrorists, later to be found as Serbs who have spotted him and his partner flying over their territory and taking bird’s eye pictures which prompts then to use military force to bring them down and hunt them down.

Burnett then finds himself alone and being chased, the story follows him and the politics involved with America and Bosnia and trying to rescue one of their men and also the uncovering of a massacre which has occurred recently between the Bosnians and the Serb forces. Although the story is fictional it is based on other wars and events which have happened in the past and the plot and the way it is carried out is neither farfetched nor unbelievable.

Cast

The cast consists of many actors and extras all of which are totally necessary to the film, their names are easy to learn throughout the film and the acting from all of them is pretty amazing. Even the extras which are only involved in the action scenes give out a sense reality which makes the film rather hardcore with relation to how much hate is involved in war.

I often find that action films can sometimes concentrate too much on getting the action element correct and the acting sometimes can fault because of this, however in Behind Enemy Lines I thought that the acting was pretty believable and all of the actors made a great team and worked together nicely. Some of the cast members are listed below –

Owen Wilson – Lt. Chris Burnett

Gene Hackman – Admiral Leslie McMahon Reigart

Gabriel Macht – Stackhouse

Charles Malik Whitfield – Captain Rodway

David Keith – Master Chief Tom O’Malley

Olek Krupa – Miroslay Lokar

Joaquim De Almeida – Admiral Piquet

I was particularly impressed with the acting of Gene Hackman, he was believable as a hardened Admiral, but he also was believable when his character was at its weakest towards the end of the film.

Me and my boyfriend both found that by the end of the film we had much respect for his character, I am a fan of Gene Hackman and luckily this film only boosted his reputation in my eyes.

He played the part well, during the film the scenes constantly flash from Owen Wilson running through terrain back to Gene Hackman and the other Navy officers on the ship. In the short flashes of time that they are on screen, enough information is fed to the audience to keep them informed of what is going on.
I found that all of the Navy officers in the film were clear and although at times the pace was quicker and lots of Navy jargon was used I was still able to follow exactly was going on and able to understand the story completely.

I like the way the film is structured, it flickers between two different scenes, one of the terrain and one of the ship. The ship scenes are the informative and talking scenes and the terrain scenes are crammed full of action. The film balances out so that it doesn’t drag on or get boring but the story line can still get quite deep and complicated.

Owen Wilson also impressed me in Behind Enemy Lines, I could not imagine him completing a film which is not a comedy but he does it beautifully with this film. His character is well written which probably helps him a lot and the action and seriousness of each scene keeps him sensible.

However the thing with Owen Wilson is no matter how serious the scene or the role he unfortunately has a comedy face and therefore I did not find him fitting into the role cosmetically. I kept expecting him to come out with a one liner or say something cocky. As a viewer I found it hard to accept this different side of him.

Another reason I could not take his character completely serious was that he was wearing a lot of makeup, which was noticeable from the very start when I commented to my boyfriend ‘look how much lip gloss he’s wearing’. Yes I’m being serious, the man was wearing lip gloss... slightly off putting and the film would have gone down better if the macho character which Wilson was playing was not wearing powdered foundation. Just a quick point there!

I think it was great for the casting director to give Owen Wilson the chance to show his versatility however the part may have been better played by another actor with more action movie experience. This is the only disadvantage I can think of with regards to the acting and casting of the film.

Action Scenes

The action scenes are nothing special, but there was enough excitement to make sure that I was watching the whole way through and I did find myself getting wound up and excited at certain points of the film anxious to find out what was going to happen. This is obviously a sign that there was just enough action.

There was fighting, and lots of things got blown up and shot at which kept the action and drama going. However, the action scenes were not over the top, I cannot stand films which manufacture a bit of bodies blowing up just to get them out of a dry patch in the film.

The thing I found most impressive, was that cat and mouse films can usually be frustrating and drawn out, however I think that the chasing in this film was just long enough to keep the movie going and short enough to make sure that I was watching the whole way through. The chasing also did not dampen the action, there were sufficient breaks in between fighting scenes to ensure that I knew what was going on but the fighting scenes occurred often enough to keep the film exciting.

Special Effects

As I have said, the action scenes although well spaced and thought out are nothing special, this is not necessarily down to the special effects as they are not noticeably poor. However there was nothing different or outstanding about any of the scenes. Which makes the special effects average in my eyes.

The flying scenes are believable, as are the shooting and blow up scenes, however I think that some of them are so shocking that the detail is missed.
I always find that with any film based on war or terrorism, there are shocking and gory scenes which mean the director can lessen the effects without anyone noticing, thus reducing the cost of the film. This may be what the director has done in Behind Enemy Lines, because even though there is nothing specific I can point out which faults the special effects, the whole film carries an essence of budget and this really stands out if you compare it with other action greats.

Music

I did not notice the music in the film at all. I have had experience of action and adventure films which are made even better by an amazing soundtrack, maybe this is what Behind Enemy Lines is Lacking, the unmemorable soundtrack is not a good sign but the tension music throughout some of the cat and mouse scenes is something which I do remember and I did find to be an addition to the bum clenchingness (new word).

Setting

The movie is set in Bosnia but was actually filmed in Slovakia and I think the setting of the film is not only beautiful but also really effective.
The scenery is very simple, yet it really got my imagination going, obviously due to the plot there is an abundance of people and buildings and I found myself really sympathising with Owen Wilsons character and imagining what it really is like for victims of war not being near anyone or anything safe. So good for getting your thought process going!

The scenery is mainly trees and hills, which I think adds to the tension of the chase, it obviously means that someone could come out of anywhere and that really adds to the excitement of the film.

What I like about the scenery, is although exciting, it is not complicated the scenes are easy to follow and the whole film is very easy to watch.

Overall

Overall, I really enjoyed the film, the main reason being that it is easy to understand the plot, relate to the characters and get involved in the storyline. It is not complicated which can sometimes be a disadvantage, but in this case it merely adds to how enjoyable I found it.

The disadvantages like the semi budget special effects, unmemorable music and slightly unfitting actors do not take the film down anything more than a star as the film is enjoyable and an easy watch.

The film lasts a pretty lengthy hour and 46 minutes, and I thought that each minute was worth the watch. And I would also go as far as to say that if the film is on TV again I’ll give it another go as I found it to be entertaining the whole way through.

I will not however be buying the film, although the film was both entertaining and interesting it is not something which I would like to add to my DVD collection as I do not feel like it is an action great.

I found it to be nothing more than entertaining, and it did not spark much more than excitement. Some scenes in the film did get me going, and I nearly felt genuine hate for the Serbs, and nearly felt genuinely sad at the end, nearly. The film bordered on being great and I think it just needed an extra something for it to gain full marks.

Who’s it for

I would recommend this film to anyone over the age allowed to watch it! As I have said the film is easy to watch, it is not the type of film where you can miss out on the whole storyline if you pop to the loo! However, as I have said I would not buy it and therefore I recommend that you rent it, or wait for it to come on TV.

Any Owen Wilson fans may be disappointed, the film is not funny. If you can let go of that assumption and take him seriously he actually comes out as a really determined actor who plays the part beautifully.

The film is not overly gory but does use gore and fighting and therefore is not suitable for the younger viewer.
If you are a diehard action film fan then you may need to be warned off of this, the budget special effects and half hearted attempt at what may have been an exceptional war movie, may have entertained me but I cannot guarantee you will be able to see the movie through.

Anyone else, please enjoy and remember to watch it with an open mind

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