"Behind Enemy Lines"

I have to say that when I was younger, I really enjoyed this film, but as my tastes and my definition of a good movie has changed, I don't hold this film in as high a regard as I used to.  To be quite frank...I see alot of things in this movie that remind me of exactly the type of war movie that 'Tropic Thunder' is making fun of. The score, the script, and especially alot of the action shots are just plain cheesy, and/or completely unrealistic.  It is a nice idea for a story, and it is easy to root for Owen Wilson's character as a downed fighter pilot, but other than that there is little good I can say about this film.  At the same time however I can't necessarily can it either because it is at least somewhat entertaining.

Perhaps the thing I appreciate most about 'Behind Enemy Lines' is that it is the only feature film that I know of that deals with the war in Bosnia, and the accompanying genocide that took place in that country during the 90's.  I do appreciate the fact that here is a film that touches on that piece of world history that even today is still being played out with continued spats of violence, and a fragile truce between the warring factions in that slice of eastern Europe.  At the very least, while not a great film, it can help us to remember some of the horrific events that took place in the Bosnian war, and hopefully help us to remember the cost of such events....so that we may do our part to prevent them from happening throughout the world.............Sudan.

-David

I think I've only seen this movie once before. It's good to be reminded that we were involved in the Serbia/Bosnian conflict, it's a conflict you don't hear much about. This movie takes place during that time featuring Owen Wilson in a non-comedic role. He does a decent job, though his talent is probably best used in more comical roles.

This certainly is not the best war movie we have, in fact it borders on cheesiness at times and brought to mind Tropic Thunder. What makes it cheesy? Well, some of the music they used seemed too modern and upbeat and just didn't fit what was happening on screen. And I didn't really like the slow-mo effects they used. Basically it seemed like they tried to make a war movie with "hip" or "modern" effects like you would see in the Matrix. I just don't think it fit very well. But even so, the basic story is good, and again, it's important to be aware of the types of conflicts and wars we've been involved in, to learn from and hopefully prevent further wars in the future.

-Bethany