Free Tickets! (Behind Enemy Lines (DVD))

Member Name: daseaford

Product:	Behind Enemy Lines (DVD)
Date:	10/01/02 (53 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Lots of Action., Great Action., Tension.

Disadvantages: Lot of killing.

On the UCI Cinema internet web site they were giving away vouchers to obtain free tickets to see a preview of the film “Behind Enemy Lines”. After printing off a couple of vouchers we headed for our nearest cinema offering this preview, which was the Crystal Peaks UCI cinema near Sheffield.

A week later we were getting up on a Sunday morning to get to Sheffield for the 11.00am start to find everywhere covered in snow. However, we made it to the cinema on time and were very pleased that we did.

This is an excellent film that is very well worth watching. It is set at the end of the war in Bosnia and features the US Navy pilots who are on patrol over the skies of the Balkans to ensure that the peace process continues as planned.

On a routine photo reconnaissance mission an F-18 Superhornet plane photographs evidence of a war atrocity, but is then shot down by a SAM anti-aircraft missile. The pilot, Stackhouse (played by Gabriel Macht) is captured and executed, but the navigator Lieutenant Chris Burnett (played by Owen Wilson) manages to escape.

The story then follows the efforts of Burnett to avoid being captured or killed whilst in enemy territory. At the same time the film follows the events on the aircraft carrier (The U.S.S. Carl Vinson) from which the F-18 had been launched and the efforts of Admiral Reigart (played by Gene Hackman) to command a successful rescue mission for the trapped navigator.

The film has been made exceptionally well and I am sure it is going to become a great hit in the cinemas during 2002. The struggle of Burnett as he tries to survive is full of tension and drama as the hostile troops relentlessly pursue him across the country. Owen Wilson is very convincing in this role. At the start of the film we have seen how Burnett is becoming disillusioned with life as a Navy pilot, but we see in this situation how all of his training starts to kick in and Owen Wilson portrays this very well.


My main reason for wanting to see this film was that Gene Hackman was in it, as he is one of my favourite actors. As the very well respected Admiral we see the turmoil he faces in wanting to rescue his pilot, whilst being restricted by politics and power-play. In the end Reigart risks his career by setting aside the rules and leading a rescue mission himself. Hackman is superb in this role and is well supported by David Keith, who plays his Executive Officer (O’Malley).

The film is full of action from start to finish and contains a lot of tension as the drama unfolds. All of the acting is very good and the whole film is very believable. It is accompanied by a superb soundtrack that adds to the whole atmosphere of the film. There are some very good special effects, bangs and explosions.

There is a fair bit of killing in the film, but this is not unduly gruesome and there is no gratuitous violence. There is no bad language and no sex scenes. This is just a very well made film that keeps your attention from start to finish. There are some well used techniques used in the film including an excellent slow motion sequence with a land mine and some freeze frame pictures that seem to work really well. During some of the chase sequences in the forests, unusual low level and unsteady shots were used which I thought worked well to depict the desperation as Burnett ran for his life.

The film is 105 minutes long, which just seems about right for this story.

If you enjoy action films then I strongly recommend that you do go and see this film. You will not be disappointed.

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