BEHIND ENEMY LINES
A 20th Century Fox release 

review by Joseph B. Mauceri

SYNOPSIS: Lt. Chris Burnett is a top naval aviator who is fustrated that fragile geo-politics have kept him from what he knows best ö flying F/A-18 Superhornet jets into combat. "Weâre watching, not fighting," he tells Admiral Reigart, who thinks Burnett hasnât really learned what it takes to be a solider. In an attempt to toughen Burnettâs metal Reigart assigns him a routine reconnaissance mission on Christmas Eve. Disobeying orders, Burnett and Stackhouse enter a no-fly zone and photograph something no one was meant to see and they are shot down. Trapped behind enemy lines, Burnett struggles to survive the relentless pursuit of a ruthless secret police enforcer, a deadly tracker and countless hostile troops. With time running out, Reigart takes matters into his own hands and sets aside the military rules and risks his career to save the life of this one soldier.

REVIEW: Photographer, cinematographer, screenwriter and critically acclaimed commercial director John Moore makes his theatrical directorial debut with a film that attempts to focuses on one soldier's experience with the ruthless nature of the Bosnia conflict. If you simply look at the film in terms of the directing and editing of visual effects, Moore puts an MTV spin on your typical war time drama. In the air or on land, BEHIND ENEMY LINES offers views breathtaking scenes filled with chills and thrills. The fighter being pursued by the missiles sequence is even more compelling then some of the action offered by "Pearl Harbor," even taking into consideration the age differences in the aircraft. The sequences here looked a bit more authentic and dirty, and felt less like a Hollywood creation of smoke and mirrors.

How are Mooreâs skills in dealing with actors? Frightful! Weâve all seen Hackman and Chris Owens deliver much better performances. Watching the film I got this feeling that there were times when the actors looked to Moore for direction, but only to have him say something like, "Well, how about doing that Hackman thing that you do so well." There are several compelling sequences that should have really knocked the wind out of the viewers, but watching the events unfold on screen was like opening a flat bottle of champagne. That type of problem is also indicative of the filmâs score. Three times during the film the filmmakers try to utilize pop songs to create a hyper-real emotional intensity. It is so blatant that it is ineffective. It only serves to pull the audience further out of the drama, like that Hackman thing I mentioned.

The screenplay is riddled with holes. The political position of Piquet, who is over Admiral Reigart, is never revealed. The film suggests that he is somehow connected to the "villains," but no real clues are offered. There are several other instances of this type of political positioning in the screenplay that tightly focuses the narrative on Lieutenant Chris Burnett and Admiral Piquet rediscovering their patriotic pride. The real drama is reduced to a backdrop that gives BEHIND ENEMY LINES this cheap of a poorly written Kafka story.

The studio had slated BEHIND ENEMY LINES for a release in the first quarter of 2002. It is usually seen as a time of year when studios dump films they feel canât compete in a major season, such as summer and Christmas. After the events of September 11th the studio tested the film again and the audience responses were considerably better. The studio decided to capitalize on these surprising results and moved up the release. So in a season filled with exceptionally made films trying to obtain a spot on that final Oscar ballot, BEHIND ENEMY LINES is simply a stale leftover that will find itself quickly gone from the marquee and in the trash.
 

OFFICIAL WEB SITE:
http://www.behindenemylinesmovie.com/ 

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