Behind Enemy Lines -- 2001

Behind Enemy Lines

(2001)

PG-13 violence, language

My Rating 4 stars

Owen Wilson

Gene Hackman

Gabriel Macht

Charles Malik Whitfield

David Keith

Olek Krupa

Joaquim de Almeida

Vladimir Mashkov

Marko Igonda

Eyal Podell

Does anyone else out there think that Owen Wilson rocks? :-) He's become one of my favorite actors of all time. It doesn't matter if he's a cowboy, family man, pilot, or cop, doing an action, comedy or serious part, he's fun to watch.

In this film, Owen plays the part of navigator Chris Burnett who has gotten so bored with the whole military system that he uses any excuse at all to get into trouble. In fact he gets onto his commander's nerves so much that The Admiral (Gene Hackman) sends Burnett and his buddy/pilot, Stackhouse, on a routine mission... on Christmas Day.

Both guys are pretty miffed at this but Burnett is especially since he knows The Admiral gave the orders because of him. So when their censors pick up some heat where there wasn't supposed to be any, Burnett convinces his buddy that they should check it out. Against orders, of course. Ten minutes later, they were shot out the sky.

US soldiers down in Bosnia. Were the natives friendly? Perhaps the majority. But Burnett and Stackhouse have evidence. And there was a man desperate not to have the evidence leave the country or fall into the hands of his contemporaries.

What I Liked:

1: The great acting. Everyone on this movie was excellent. It is one of the best military movies I've watched.

2: How realistic it is... or seems. If it's not, then I fell for it. Lol.

3: It's very well directed and the score is wonderful.

4: The relationship between Burnett and The Admiral. An interesting study.

5: Basically, 99% of the movie.

What I Didn't Like:

1: The language. It gets hairy sometimes.

2: There are two or three scenes/happenings that seemed pretty unrealistic. You could tell they only would have happened that way on a movie.

3: One of the directors favorite things to do was have Burnett get into a very tight situation and you wouldn't be sure if he got out because the camera goes to the enemy or something besides him... therefore, the viewer rarely sees how Owen gets out of the situation. Once or twice is fine but through the entire movie? Please. :-P

Do I recommend this movie? Yes... I do. It's not a film for children or for someone who is not used to action/violence but for those that like this type of movie, go for it. Makes for an enjoyable evening.

Enemy Of The State

Enemy of the State

A Don Simpson/Jerry Bruckhemimer Production

Will Smith

Gene Hackman

Regina King

Jon Voight

Gabriel Byrn

Loren Den

Jake Busey

Barry Pepper

Rated R for violence, language and brief sexuality/innuendo

My rating: 4 stars for excellence

Robert Clayton Dean is a successful D.C. Attorney and happily married family man who lives in relative peace. Little does he know that his life will soon be ripped to pieces... and unless he takes drastic action, he won't get it back. Unknown to him, he has in his possession a video of a murder... a political murder. And the murderer is willing to go to all lengths to get rid of it and anyone who may know about it. The result is lots of action, some humor, some tears and a good feeling when you're done watching the film.

What I liked:

1: The wonderful relationship between Dean and his wife. In spite of their mistakes (and there were some big ones), their relationship grew stronger through each storm they weathered.

2: How Dean always had his wife and kid on his brain, regardless of what he was going through.

3: Dean's determination to live, even if it meant doing some of the stupidest, most uncomfortable things he'd ever heard of.

4: Gene Hackman's character and the relationship between him and Dean. It was an interesting physiological mix of hate and respect, that eventually turned to appreciation and, shall I say?, affection.

5: The way I totally got the story and what was happening, even though it moved very quickly.

6: Not being much with electronics, etc, I doubly appreciated how easily I could understand what each piece of technological equipment was for and how it worked.

7: This movie was extremely well acted, well directed, and all the strings were neatly tied when the movie was finished.

8: Even with the elements that I didn't care for, I must admit that nothing seemed excessive or out of place. Each scene and sequence fit very well and helped flavor the film.

9: It seemed totally 100% realistic. Being raised in a home that questions everything about the culture we live in and our leaders, I was very interested in the message of this film. And it was this: we have little privacy. As Will Smith said in an interview, “The only privacy we have is in our heads.” It's a movie that made me think and I think it's a movie that will be around for awhile because (I hope!) there are other people who appreciate being woke up.

The things I didn't like:

1: The language.

2: The sexual content... which, thankfully, was “tastefully done”. There is a scene in a Victorian Secret store, in which Dean is trying to buy some lingerie for his wife. One could cover the screen and listen to the dialog because it is important to the rest of the story. Scene two that is a little colorful is when Dean finds that nearly all his clothing is bugged or has censers. He strips down in an apartment quickly, while the older oriental lady looks on and claps enthusiastically... but Dean only gets down to his undershirt and skivvies (which, thankfully, the bad guys forgot to bug... Lol!) before he starts to run again. That actually was the most disturbing scene for me because I tend to want to respect older ladies and this one had me totally disgusted. :-P Another scene is when Dean and Gene Hackman's character film a congressman having an affair with someone who isn't his wife. The camera pans away before one sees too much and even then, you can simply cover the screen and listen to the dialog, which is also important. The final scene (that I can remember) is when Dean and his wife see each other for the first time in a few days and engage in an affectionate embrace (mostly kissing) that includes Carla wearing the lingerie he got for her. Again, it's tastefully done but personally, I would cover the screen.

What surprised me in this film:

1: The appearance Gabriel Byrne. I love his role from Little Women (2002) as Professor Baer so was pleasantly surprised with his brief but memorable appearance here.

Do I recommend this film? To a mature audience, definitely. If you enjoy a good film, with intrigue, a beautiful romance (I love it when the romance is between a married couple :-)), lots of action, a good message and all the strings tied, watch Enemy of the State.