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Movies / Upcoming / Behind Enemy Lines
Behind Enemy Lines

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Behind Enemy Lines (2001)

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Reviews Counted:127

Fresh:46

Rotten:81

Average Rating:4.7/10

Consensus: The plot for Behind Enemy Lines is more jingoistic than credible, and the overload of flashy visual tricks makes the action sequences resemble a video game.

Runtime: 1 hr 46 mins

Genre: Action/Adventure

US Box Office: $58,767,833

Synopsis: On a reconnaissance flight over eastern Europe, disillusioned naval pilot Chris Burnett (Owen Wilson) and his partner, Stackhouse (Gabriel Macht), photograph a scene they were not meant to see.... On a reconnaissance flight over eastern Europe, disillusioned naval pilot Chris Burnett (Owen Wilson) and his partner, Stackhouse (Gabriel Macht), photograph a scene they were not meant to see. When their plane is shot down and Stackhouse is quickly captured and executed, Burnett must struggle to survive in unfamiliar hostile territory with a cold-blooded assassin and hundreds of enemy troops on his heels. Meanwhile, on an American battleship in the Adriatic Sea, Burnett's commanding officer, Admiral Reigart (Gene Hackman), attempts to negotiate his soldier's return amidst tense political and military maneuvers. Soon Burnett discovers exactly why he's being hunted, making his situation--and Reigert's actions--even more perilous. Benefiting from Wilson's straightforward performance and Hackman's typically engaging presence, BEHIND ENEMY LINES proves itself with a solid story (loosely based on real-life events) and excellent action sequences. Shot in a cold, icy light, John Moore's film features a nail-biting aerial chase, a tense race across a grenade-filled wasteland, and a stunningly explosive final battle. Wilson, typically cast in quirky comedic roles, is an unlikely action hero who turns out to be the movie's secret weapon. By avoiding excessive macho posturing, BEHIND ENEMY LINES is smarter, more exciting, and better looking than most Hollywood military thrillers. [More]

Starring: Owen Wilson, Gene Hackman, Gabriel Macht, Charles Malik Whitfield

Starring: Owen Wilson, Gene Hackman, Gabriel Macht, Charles Malik Whitfield, Joaquim de Almeida, David Keith, Olek Krupa, Vladimir Mashkov

Director: John Moore

Director: John Moore
Screenwriter: Zak Penn, David Veloz, John Thomas, James Thomas
Producer: John Davis
Composer: Don Davis
Studio: 20th Century Fox

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Reviews for Behind Enemy Lines

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81 - 100 (sorted by date; Australian critics are listed first)
Text View | |< << 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 >> >|
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It gives filmgoers a chance to cheer, but seems contrived to do just that.

Full Review Source: Rochester Democrat and Chronicle | comment Comment
11/30/01
Jack Garner
Jack Garner
Rochester Democrat and Chronicle

Becomes just another ho-hum evade-the-enemy cliffhanger.

Full Review Source: Reel.com | comment Comment
11/30/01
Tor Thorsen
Tor Thorsen
Reel.com

[Wilson's] not 100 percent Dignan, but he's close enough that those who cherish the Dignan character will be enchanted.

Full Review Source: Oregonian | comment Comment
11/30/01
Kim Morgan
Kim Morgan
Oregonian

Has first-rate action and a lot of it.

Full Review Source: Newsday | comment Comment
11/30/01
John Anderson
John Anderson
Newsday

A slickly entertaining war movie that's sometimes striking, sometimes silly -- but never, ever boring.

Full Review Source: New York Post | comment Comment
11/30/01
Lou Lumenick
Lou Lumenick
New York Post

Improbable and manipulative as the story may be, the thrills keep coming, the action mounts and the tension builds, taking the viewer along for a wild ride.

Full Review Source: Jam! Movies | comment Comment
11/30/01
Louis B. Hobson
Louis B. Hobson
Jam! Movies

An example of the kind of crass Hollywood moviemaking that used to be accepted without question.

Full Review Source: Jam! Movies | comment Comment
11/30/01
Jim Slotek
Jim Slotek
Jam! Movies

Politics bad. Boom boom good.

Full Review Source: Houston Chronicle | comment Comment
11/30/01
Eric Harrison
Eric Harrison
Houston Chronicle

A highly competent, if inflated, action flick that offers us war from every vantage.

Full Review Source: Globe and Mail | comment Comment
11/30/01
Liam Lacey
Liam Lacey
Globe and Mail

Wilson plays the role with a constant smirk and spends the majority of his time running through explosions and avoiding clichéd enemies.

Full Review Source: E! Online | comment Comment
11/30/01
E! Online
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

This preposterous military thriller doesn't even make an effort to be believable.

Full Review Source: Deseret News, Salt Lake City | comment Comment
11/30/01
Jeff Vice
Jeff Vice
Deseret News, Salt Lake City

An involving and driving action-packed movie.

Full Review Source: Denver Post | comment Comment
11/30/01
Steven Rosen
Steven Rosen
Denver Post

Any thrills Behind Enemy Lines generates are hollow at best and are ultimately rendered meaningless by the movie's unabashed jingoism.

Full Review Source: Los Angeles Daily News | comment Comment
11/30/01
Glenn Whipp
Glenn Whipp
Los Angeles Daily News

It's disappointing that the movie doesn't pack anything more potent than slow-motion, flag-waving montages to make its patriotic point.

Full Review Source: Citysearch | comment Comment
11/30/01
Dan Fazio
Dan Fazio
Citysearch

Its hero is so reckless and its villains so incompetent that it's a showdown between a man begging to be shot, and an enemy that can't hit the side of a Bos-nian barn.

Full Review Source: Chicago Sun-Times | comment Comment
11/30/01
Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert
Chicago Sun-Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

It serves its purpose as an action-packed flag-waver.

Full Review Source: Boxoffice Magazine | comment Comment
11/30/01
Tim Cogshell
Tim Cogshell
Boxoffice Magazine

It's no more than recruiting-poster deep.

comment Comment
11/30/01
Jay Carr
Jay Carr
Boston Globe

This is the right surreal movie at the right surreal time.

Full Review Source: MovieJuice! | comment Comment
11/30/01
Mark Ramsey
Mark Ramsey
MovieJuice!

A war movie, and a solid one at that.

Full Review Source: EricDSnider.com | comment Comment
11/30/01
Eric D. Snider
Eric D. Snider
EricDSnider.com

Pure verve and energy and will make you want to run out and sign up tomorrow.

Full Review Source: Flick Filosopher | comment Comment
11/30/01
MaryAnn Johanson
MaryAnn Johanson
Flick Filosopher
 
 
81 - 100 (sorted by date; Australian critics are listed first)
Text View | |< << 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 >> >|
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