Film Snail

6.4

Behind Enemy Lines

PG-13·2001·106m

Action

Drama

Thriller

War

Action

Drama

Thriller

War

Summary

While flying a routine reconnaissance mission over Bosnia, fighter pilot Lt. Chris Burnett photographs something he wasn't supposed to see and gets shot down behind enemy lines, where he must outrun an army led by a ruthless Serbian general. With time running out and a deadly tracker on his trail, Burnett's commanding officer, Admiral Reigart, decides to risk his career and launch a renegade rescue mission to save his life.

Cast

Owen Wilson

Lt. Chris 'Longhorn' Burnett

Gene Hackman

Admiral Leslie Reigart, Commander Adriatic Battle Group

Gabriel Macht

Lt. Jeremy 'Smoke' Stackhouse

Olek Krupa

General Miroslav Lokar

Vladimir Mashkov

Tracker (Sasha)

Marko Igonda

Bazda

David Keith

Master Chief Tom O'Malley

Charles Malik Whitfield

Capt. Glen Rodway, USMC

Eyal Podell

Petty Officer Kennedy

Joaquim de Almeida

Admiral Juan-Miguel Piquet, Commander of NATO Naval Command

Geoff Pierson

Admiral Donnelly

Kamil Kollárik

Babic ('Ice Cube')

Leon Russom

Ed Burnett

Aernout Van Lynden

Aernout Van Lynden, Sky News Reporter

Salaudin Bilal

Ejup

Laurence Mason

Brandon

Dragan Marinković 'Maca'

Damir

Vladimír Oktávec

Petrovic

Jared Chandler

Piquet's Aide

Sam Jaeger

Red Crown Operator

Shane Johnson

Red Crown Operator

Don Winston

Red Crown Operator

Elizabeth Perry

Red Crown Operator

Igor Hajdarhodžić

Serb Spotter

Tarik Filipović

Serb Soldier

Peter Pálka

Serb Soldier at Lokar's Mansion

Todd Boyce

Junior Officer

Goran Grgić

Technician

Ivan Urbánek

Father in Minefield

Ismet Bagtasevic

Muslim Passenger

Kamil Mikulčík

Tiger #1

Robert Franko

Tiger #2

Lukáš Hoffmann

Tiger #3

Vedrana Božinović

Serb Anchor

Dorothy Lucey

Dorothy Lucey, Reporter

Greg Goossen

CIA Spook

Filip Nola

Serb Soldier at Mass Grave

Bumper Robinson

Scif Technician

Ann Sorum

Burnett's Mom

George Davis

Sky News Camerman

Tommy Mooney

Carrier Commanding Officer

Mark Bocchetti

Navy Rep

Lucia Srncova

Muslim Girl

Daniel Margolius

Muslim Teenager

Crew

Director

John Moore

Screenplay

David Veloz

Screenplay

Zak Penn

Story

Jim Thomas

Story

John Thomas

Reviews

Geronimo1967

September 2, 2023

Owen Wilson is a disillusioned pilot aboard an American aircraft carrier. Bored with the relentlessness of it all, he puts in his papers to the chagrin of his commanding officer. With two weeks left to go, he is flying a reconnaissance mission over Bosnia when he is shot down, his pilot murdered by rogue troops and he is forced to flee for his life - pursued by a ruthless sniper - whilst his task force colleagues try to find and rescue him. Based on a true story, it is actually quite a well paced manhunt with plenty of peril and pace. What diminishes it is the really poor choice of actor to lead. Wilson plays the disinterested flier well enough at the start, but as things heat up on the ground he really isn't good enough to hold the film up en seul. Gene Hackman is his boss (Adm. Reigert), and he isn't really up to very much either - though he does do the slightly gung-go "go get our boy back" role well enough. The premiss of the genocide being perpetrated on the locals is writ large, and having seen much news coverage at the time of this largely forgotten Balkan war, the story is not without it's potency. It is quite watchable, but is still a somewhat light-weight depiction of a truly difficult situation.