Behind Enemy Lines had one of the worst marketing campaigns ever. It must have because the movie’s theatrical release failed to give me ANY interest, as what I heard and saw on TV and the Net sounded too rushed for post 911 Patriotic Consumption. Having watched the movie now, I can say it’s a tragedy that this was not met with greater success.

Hot shot Navy Pilot Navigator Chris Burnett (Owen Wilson) has just six weeks left before his contract with Uncle Sam ends. Admiral Reigert (Gene Hackman) sees in this young man a heart of courage and grand potential and tries to change the mind of the young gun who is whining about a lack of actual fighting. Glorifying war, Burnett is disappointed in the endless recon and flyover missions. Set against the Bosnian crisis of the mid 90’s, Burnett and his pilot Stackhouse (Steven Macht) are assigned a Christmas Day reconnaissance mission as punishment. Once airborne, the duo spots some suspicious activity in an area that is supposed to be a demilitarized zone and they decide to fly over the area and take some aerial photos. The problem is that this violates a very sensitive NATO treaty, causing the two to be attacked with anti-aircraft missiles from below.

On the ground the two survive the plane’s destruction but Stackhouse has broken a leg. Burnett proceeds to reach higher ground so that his beacon will work when suddenly he witnesses the Bosnian Army approaching his friend. Hidden among the brush Burnett watches in horror as his pilot is brutally executed, letting out a scream that lets the Bosnians know that Stackhouse was not alone.

The movie’s plot then resumes with Burnett on the run, and Admiral Reigert fighting political bullshit that is preventing him from picking up his fallen soldier. The action stays intense throughout with Burnett constantly on the run from a pair of snipers and the general Bosnian Army.

Director John Moore does an excellent job in his first feature length film of avoiding the unnecessary. I never found myself wandering as the film moves wisely from conflict to resolution to more conflict. The acting is excellent, especially for the snipers who come off as "humanly evil", where you can almost understand their position but still hold them accountable for their actions.

Star Owen Wilson adds a bit of comic relief to the role, a welcome change from the hardcore nature of survival that Lt. Burnett is going through in a land unknown to him. Wilson continues to be one of my favorite actors and though I think ultimately his casting hurt the films wide appeal, he made me quite proud to be an American.

But the real reason to see the film are the cinematography shots. The style with which speed of film is used gave me the same sense of wow as when I first witnessed Neo dodge bullets in the Matrix. Mind you this is not ripping off the Matrix, this is something totally original and adds a sense of edginess to the film. In fact the F-16 versus Missile sequence is the single most impressive action scene in the air I have ever seen. How this film failed to get an Oscar nod for its looks baffles me but should be seen by all just for the camera work.

1/2