Behind Enemy Lines (2001)
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37% of critics liked it
(130 reviews) -
65% of users liked it
(301,118 ratings)
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… More 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, Rovi
- Directed By
- John Moore
- Written By
- Zak Penn, David Veloz, John Thomas, James Thomas
- Genres
- Drama, Action & Adventure
- In Theaters
- Nov 30, 2001 Wide
- Studio
- 20th Century Fox
Critic Reviews
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Jeff Strickler, Minneapolis Star Tribune
The filmmakers do their best to distract us, but eventually it becomes hard to ignore that Behind Enemy Lines is one long chase sequence.
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Michael O'Sullivan, Washington Post
An old-fashioned game of the cinematic cat-and-mouse, soldier-on-the-run variety.
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Rex Reed, New York Observer
The only thing certain about Behind Enemy Lines is that Mr. Wilson is in it for the chance to work with Mr. Hackman, and Mr. Hackman is in it for the money.
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Nell Minow, Common Sense Media
Action movie with intense peril and devastation.
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Philip Martin, Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
From its prosaic title to its convenient timeliness, this valentine to U.S. military guys hamstrung by officious NATO bureaucrats could hardly seem less promising
See more critic ratings and reviews on Rotten Tomatoes
Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)
Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)
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Cast
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Gene Hackman
as Reigart
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Owen Wilson
as Lt. Chris Burnett
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Gabriel Macht
as Stackhouse
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Charles Malik Whitfield
as Rodway
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Joaquim de Almeida
as Piquet
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David Keith
as O'Malley
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Olek Krupa
as Lokar
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Vladimir Mashkov
as Tracker
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Marko Ogonda
as Bazda
- Elizabeth P. Perry
- Eyal Podell



