neumu [ cinematronic ]




	Behind Enemy Lines
	John Moore Gene Hackman, Owen Wilson 2001		Call it good timing. As U.S. planes fly missions over Afghanistan, an American war movie — one dealing with the country's post-Vietnam status as international cop in a new world order — hits theaters. It's an energetic update of those downed-fighter-pilot-trying-to-get-home flicks, set in the combat-ravaged Balkans with Gene Hackman as Admiral Reigart, an aging, gruff, but honorable naval officer, and Owen Wilson taking on the role of Lt. Chris Burnett, a brash, talented young aviator. Peeved at Burnett's expressed desire to leave the navy, Reigart chastises him by sending him and a pilot on a Christmas Eve recon mission over Bosnia during an uneasy cease-fire. When the plane is shot down, NATO command orders a contrite Reigart to leave Burnett and the pilot on their own. The computer-animated air action is vid-game frenzy; the situations are stale; it all tumbles into an improbable climax. But old pro Hackman, ebullient Wilson and the downright vigor of it all earn mild commendation.