Movie Scene
'Behind Enemy Lines' blends potent, pedestrian

By Jack Garner
Gannett News Service

BEHIND ENEMY LINES (PG-13, with battlefield violence and profanity) Two-and-a-Half Stars (Fair-to-Good) A search-and-rescue military saga with Owen Wilson as the Navy fly-boy, shot down over Bosnia, and Gene Hackman, as the commanding officer who wants to save him. As directed by John Moore, the highly stylized actioner offers an uneven mix of the potent and the pedestrian. Twentieth Century Fox, 100 mins.

But, at least this search-and-rescue saga with Owen Wilson and Gene Hackman gives American viewers a rooting interest and a rousing pay-off.

That's both a positive and a negative; while it gives filmgoers a chance to cheer; it seems contrived to do just that. Although the film isn't as shallow and manipulative as, say, "Top Gun," it's certainly no "Saving Private Ryan," either.

Wilson stars as Burnett, a Navy Jet navigator who's itching for real conflict after seven years of training and dull exercises, flown mostly from an aircraft carrier in the Adriatic Sea.

He and his pilot, Stackhouse (Gabriel Macht) finally stir up a bit of trouble themselves by zooming over a no-fly zone in Bosnia, taking photos of military encampments.

The Serbs, however, are not amused — they shoot down the plane. Though the duo parachute free, Stackhouse is executed by the Serbs moments after he hits ground. Burnett runs for his life — and is trapped "behind enemy lines."

Meanwhile, back on the carrier, Admiral Leslie Reigart (Hackman) is determined to command a rescue attempt to extract Burnett. However, the incident has occurred at a sensitive time in peace negotiations and the NATO commander forbids Reigart from responding.

(This establishes another cliche of war films — eager fighting men hog-tied by overly sensitive bureaucrats and politicized commanders.)

In Bosnia, Burnett is constantly on the run, and engages in several breathless encounters and near-encounters, especially with a renegade Serb assassin who's been assigned to kill him.

Eventually, of course, Reigart tells the bureaucrats to shove it, assembles his marines, and heads for the pick-up site.

At times, the drama is suspenseful, like when a pained Reigart briefly watches Burnett run for his life, thanks to remarkable heat-sensitive satellite coverage from high above Bosnia.

At times, it's potent, like when Burnett hides for his life, beneath the rotting bodies of Moslems, thrown in an open grave by the ethnic-cleansing Serbs. At times, it's even poetic, like when the parachuting fly-boys drift down, just missing a giant religious statue on the peak of a mountain.

But, it's also remarkably pedestrian and cliched. That's when you'll be amazed how the bad guys can fire thousands of bullets at our hero — and never hit him.

Director John Moore comes to features from a career as a cinematographer and maker of prize-winning commercials — and it shows. His stylized filmmaking is sometimes effective and sometimes over-reaches.

The always-reliable Hackman brings authority and decency to his portrayal of the commanding officer, while Wilson demonstrates he has more gifts than the off-center humor he's displayed in several comedies.

In fact, Wilson makes a likable Burnett, which isn't an easy chore, since the character isn't a true hero. Burnett gets in trouble because he's itching for a fight — or a chance to show off — not because he's on an important mission.

About all Burnett has going for him — hero-wise — is his U.S. citizenship. Of course, for most filmgoers right now, that's probably enough.

Rated PG-13, with battlefield violence and profanity.