Themes: Behind Enemy Lines, Heroic Mission, Survival in the Wilderness
Main Cast: Gene Hackman, Owen Wilson, Gabriel Macht, Charles Malik Whitfield, Joaquim de Almeida
Release Year: 2001
Country: US
Run Time: 106 minutes
MPAA Rating: PG13
Plot
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, All Movie Guide
David Keith - O'Malley; Olek Krupa - Lokar; Vladimir Mashkov - Tracker; Marko Ogonda - Bazda
Credit
T. Alex Blum - Co-producer, John Moore - Director, Paul Martin Smith - Editor, Stephanie Austin - Executive Producer, Wyck Godfrey - Executive Producer, Don Davis - Composer (Music Score), Nathan Crowley - Production Designer, Brendan Galvin - Cinematographer, John Davis - Producer, Craig Berkey - Set Designer, John Thomas - Screen Story, James Thomas - Screen Story, Zak Penn - Screenwriter, David Veloz - Screenwriter, Craig Berkey - Supervising Sound Editor, Robert "Bobby Z" Zajonc - Pilot
