Barnes & Noble

A realistically staged war drama that provides rousing entertainment without falling back on stock characters or jingoistic platitudes, Behind Enemy Lines is both gritty and suspenseful. It’s also a showcase for Owen Wilson, heretofore associated primarily with comedies. He’s unexpectedly sympathetic as Chris Burnett, a cocky naval aviator bored with uneventful reconnaissance missions. One such foray over war-torn Bosnia ends with Chris being shot down and pursued by enemy soldiers, and he’s left to fend for himself in hostile territory while his tough-as-nails commanding officer, Reigert (Gene Hackman), mounts a rescue effort. The script allows tensions to escalate along parallel lines: Wilson’s attempt to stay ahead of his pursuers becomes increasingly desperate, and Hackman is frustrated by the necessity of securing clearance for his politically sensitive incursion. Director John Moore (He Shoots, He Scores) limns the Bosnian conflict in harrowing detail, and the atrocities he pictures will certainly unsettle some viewers. But what makes Behind Enemy Lines so entertaining is the story’s underlying reinforcement of the American military’s dedication and resolve. In a commentary for the DVD, Moore and producers John Davis and Wick Godfrey explain the challenges they faced in getting the film made. The disc also includes a behind-the-scenes featurette and three deleted scenes.

All Movie Guide

A television commercial for a SEGA game system that aired during the 1999 MTV Music Video Awards landed debut director John Moore a gig behind the camera of this military action thriller. Owen Wilson stars as Lt. Chris Burnett, a naval aviator aboard the U.S.S. Carl Vinson who's frustrated with the strict "hands-off" political policies that prevent him from experiencing combat against hostile Bosnian forces in his F/A-18 Superhornet jet. Burnett's commander, Admiral Reigert (Gene Hackman), thinks that the brash pilot doesn't have what it takes to be in the millitary, but the eager young officer soon gets the chance to prove his mettle. While conducting a routine photographic reconnaissance over a remote area of the Balkans, Burnett captures grisly images that serve as proof of genocidal crimes, but his plane is blown out of the sky. He's soon pursued on the ground by the forces of Lokar (Olek Krupa), a Serbian paramilitary leader intent on covering up unthinkable crimes, while Reigert defies the NATO orders of his superior (Joaquim de Almeida) and risks his career to mount a covert rescue mission. Behind Enemy Lines (2001), the first of two back-to-back releases starring Wilson and Hackman (the other being The Royal Tenenbaums), also stars David Keith, Gabriel Macht, and Charles Malik Whitfield. Karl Williams

New York Times

Provides about as intense an immersion in military ambience as a Hollywood movie could hope to provide in just over 90 minutes. Stephen Holden

New York Post

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

Product Details

• UPC: 024543395959
• Source: 20TH CENTURY FOX
• Region Code: A
• Presentation: Wide Screen
• Sound: DTS 5.1-Channel Surround Sound
• Editions: Subtitled
• Time: 1:46:00
• Sales Rank: 27,541

This DVD is also available as part of a box set:

• Action Pack
• Antwone Fisher / behind Enemy Lines
• Siege/behind Enemy Lines
• Behind Enemy Lines: Freedom
• War Hero Collection
• Behind Enemy Lines Ultimate Collection
• War Hero Collection

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