War is hellishly entertaining, especially in "Behind Enemy Lines," a 21-gun salute to the commitment and preparedness of the U.S. military. But that's not the half of it. This baby comes equipped with all the bells and missiles. Given the standard-issue plot, it's about all it can be.
Released two months earlier than planned, the thriller couldn't be better suited to the times. With patriotism running at an all-time high, cheering crowds are sure to drown out spoilsports who find fault with the tired scribblings of Zac Penn ("Last Action Hero") and David Veloz ("Natural Born Killers") or the formulaic characters they have created.
Owen Wilson stars in "Behind Enemy Lines."
(20th Century Fox)
|
|
No doubt audiences are comforted these days by traditional stories and protagonists, and Lt. Chris Burnett (Owen Wilson) fits the bill. He's a natural-born action hero who will, if he must, become a killer. A top-notch aviator, he joined the Navy in hopes of kicking butt, but he winds up sitting on his rear end while the bureaucrats tiptoe through diplomatic minefields in the Balkans.
As the warring Bosnian factions hammer out the details of an impending accord, Burnett and his fellow flyboys pace the decks of USS Carl Vinson. Fed up with the peacekeeping mission, Burnett tenders his resignation. This leads to a clash between the aviator and Adm. Reigart (Gene Hackman), his cantankerous commanding officer. (Hackman has played this role so many times, the wardrobe mistress probably asked him to bring his own uniform.)
To get back at Burnett, Reigart assigns him to fly a routine reconnaissance mission on Christmas Day. (It's the rare film indeed that combines jingle bells with jingoism.) When Burnett spots Serb forces in a demilitarized zone, he veers from the assigned flight path to photograph the suspicious activity.
In response, the Serbs fire heat-seeking missiles at the F/A-18, which leads to one of the most spectacular aerial action sequences since Luke Skywalker's run through the canyons of the Death Star. Then one missile clips a wing, the jet goes down, and Burnett is trapped behind enemy lines.
Although it could cost his career, Reigart defies the NATO commander (Joaquim de Almeida) and launches a recovery mission. While the choppers warm up and his would-be rescuers smear on the camouflage paint, Burnett is pursued by a ruthless secret police enforcer, a relentless sniper and most of the Serbian army.
The action on the ground never bests the barnstorming, but director John Moore provides plenty of it and sets a blistering pace. There are a few lulls, mostly involving clunky interpersonal interaction. Moore, touted for his innovative Sega video game ads, hasn't developed a human touch.
Luckily, the actors know their assignments and, for the most part, carry them out with competence. Though best known for his comedic roles, Wilson has no trouble playing the action hero. He can dodge bullets with the best of them. And all the bad guys twirl their mustaches with suitable gusto.
"Behind Enemy Lines" doesn't pretend to say anything of consequence about the civil war in Bosnia or, by extension, Afghanistan. The movie does, however, capture the surrealism of the modern world in a war – a Muslim soldier reciting rap lyrics or families keeping house in the ruins of a shopping mall. But mostly it's about the hardware and how it's put to use. With so little footage coming out of Afghanistan, you can pretend you're seeing your defense dollars in action.
BEHIND ENEMY LINES(PG-13, 96 minutes) – contains violence and language. At area theaters.
