|
 irector John Moore's Behind Enemy Lines takes place
sometime in the mid '90s, at around the time when the different factions engaged
in war within the borders of the former Yugoslavia -- the Bosnians, Serbs, and
Croats -- had all agreed to a ceasefire brokered by the United States.. NATO, under command
of European commanders, were in charge of "keeping the peace" between
the various factions while the ceasefire was implemented. Now that you know a
brief history, let's get on with the movie.
Behind Enemy Lines stars Owen Wilson as U.S. Navy
pilot Chris Burnett, a sort of slacker in military camo who doesn't feel as if
his time guarding the airs of Yugoslavia is worthwhile. Burnett plans on leaving
the Navy for a cushy job in the private sector as soon as his tour of duty is
over, and has already delivered his
retirement papers to his commander, Admiral Reigart (Gene Hackman). Things
take a drastic turn when Burnett, along with fellow pilot Stackhouse, is shot
down by renegade Serbian forces while the two are doing routine reconnaissance
over a DMZ zone in the mountains. Apparently the duo had photographed the Serbs
doing something naughty, something they don't want exposed. Both pilots survive the
crash, but Stackhouse is located by the Serbs and executed, and now Burnett is
alone, cold, and on the run. Can he evade the enemy long enough to be rescued? Will
there even be a rescue attempt?
If you've ever seen Owen Wilson, you know the man doesn't
look like the standard "hero" figure. He doesn't have the face for it,
or even the body, and he certainly exudes much more "slacker" energy
than he does "hero" vibes. Even Wilson's easygoing, Texas drawl is
decidedly slackerish. And you know what? He is perfect for this role.
Wilson's Burnett is so out of his depth as he evades the hardened Serbs that
it's hilarious to see him dodge their bullets in scene after scene. It
almost seems that the man survives on pure luck and frantic running and nothing
else! In fact, until the very end, Burnett never once draws his sidearm to
defend himself because he's so intent on running. Is he a coward? Well, no. He's
a pilot and he wasn't built, or trained, for ground warfare. So he runs...
Behind Enemy Lines isn't concern about politics. Oh
sure, it makes a half-hearted attempt at approaching the situation in the former
Yugoslavia, but those exposition quickly fall by the wayside in favor of
explosions and gunfire. And my oh my are the explosions and gunfire loud
and exciting. Under the sure directorial hand of John Moore, Behind
Enemy Lines is kinetic, from the early attack on Burnett's plane to the very
end, when American and Serbian forces engage in battle that involves
tanks, helicopters, and lots and lots of machinegun.
Moore has a knack for
keeping the movie moving, and even simple scenes like typing on a keyboard is
accelerated with camera tricks so that the ordinary action of typing is suddenly
exciting (hard to believe, but true). The camera rarely stands still, and Moore employs everything from
freeze frames to camera POVs through spaces that no camera should be able to fit
into. The film is 1 hour and 40 minutes of technical creativity.
Storywise, Behind Enemy Lines falters. There's very
little story to speak off. Pilot sees something he's not supposed to see, gets
shot down, and now pilot runs, runs, and runs. Sometimes Moore loses track of
where Owen's Burnett is supposed to be, and the character will seemingly jump
from location to location without explanation. One moment Burnett will be racing
through a dense wood and the next he's on a dam somewhere. Confusing.
The movie is most exciting when Burnett is on the run (and
in case you haven't figured it out by now, Burnett is on the run a lot.)
The rest of the movie consists of Hackman's Reigart battling the powers that be
to get permission to rescue his man, but constantly butting heads with
regulations and politics. Hackman does a competent job and it's obvious he
realizes he's not in anything special here.
The main villains are cookie-cutter,
and a militant Serb who is responsible for Stackhouse's death, and is the main
person tracking Burnett, really comes across as hollow. The man's name isn't
even mentioned until almost toward the end (or if it was mentioned earlier I
didn't catch it). The reasons behind the importance of the photograph that
Burnett had taken are explained, but really, who cares?
Behind Enemy Lines is not a deep movie, and it's
certainly not a history lesson about the conflicts in the former Yugoslavia. For
a better understanding of how the people fought the war, and the absurdity of it
all, I recommend the satirical No
Man's Land.
|
