Hey, remember that period of time when Owen Wilson was an action hero? I’m not just talking about him playing spacey sidekick to Jackie Chan in Shanghai Noon, either; no, I mean a full fledged military dude firing guns while on the run kind of action hero that seems almost alien to the comedic wizard of “Wow”. Yet, in 2001, that’s exactly what we got with Behind Enemy Lines; a thriller that sought to emulate the type of pulse pounding, flag waving, jingoistic actioner that usually came from the production stable of Jerry Bruckheimer during the 90s. In fact, I still have a tough time accepting that it isn’t a Bruckheimer production as all the hallmarks are present and correct right down to some dizzyingly slick editing and the presence of a cantankerous Gene Hackman in a military role bathed in the neon glow of some Top Gun style radar lighting.
And yet, the true weirdness that surrounds Behind Enemy Lines goes far deeper than funky camera shots and Owen Wilson trying to make his patented slacker twang sound tough.
While the Bosnian War rages, flight officer Lieutenant Chris Burnett is going through something of a crisis of faith as his time in the U.S. Navy hasn’t exactly matched up to his expectations. In fact, flying useless missions while keeping an eye on a conflict that seemingly has no meaning to him has left him disillusioned enough to resign, which puts him on the radar of his gruff superior, Rear Admiral Leslie Reigart. After the two air their clashing ideologies, Burnett and his pilot, Jeremy Stackhouse are sent out on a routine aerial reconnaissance mission on Christmas Day only for the typically restless Burnett suggest they deviate from their set couse and zip over into the nearby demilitarised zone to check out some unauthorised activity.
However, unlucky for them, they’ve stumbled upon a crusade of genocide when they photograph Serb volunteer Guard soldiers massacring Bosniak civilians and dumbing them in a mass grave and for their troubles they’re shot down and ultimately crash – wait for it – behind enemy lines. Not too happy about being snapped committing unspeakable atrocities, General Miroslav Lokar sics his tracksuited personal assassin on their tail to take them out and as a result, Chris gets an agressive and intensive course in what it truly means to be a soldier and fight for a cause bigger than himself. Of course, if trying to avoid an assassin and an entire platoon wasn’t harrowing enough, Chris also has to contend with Reigart’s superiors constantly putting the kibosh on any rescue attempts lest they derail the ongoing peace process. Can the young flight officer dig down and manage to stay alive long enough to not just make it back alive, but to risk his life exposing the genocidal atrocities he blindly stumbled across?
While I would normally spend most of my reviews going on about such stuff as direction, cinematography and acting in order to properly convey the moviegoing experience I got from a viewing of a film, I feel like I’d be doing everyone a disservice if I didn’t delve into just fucking weird Behind Enemy Lines truly is. For a start, you never truly get used to the fact that Wes Anderson regular and frequent collaborator with Vince Vaughan, Owen frickin’ Wilson, is the lead in the gung ho military flick that sees him deliver his usual, laconic drawl while smeared in filth and dodging sniper fire. It’s an eccentric decision that actually recalls the balls required to cast Nic Cage in The Rock and for the most part it actually works as his natural demeanor fits pretty well with a young member of America’s military complex losing faith when confronted with the lack of simple solutions in modern warfare. Alternatively, Gene Hackman could do this shit in his sleep and while his role isn’t a million miles away from the exact same character he played in Crimson Tide, his craggy bull-headedness is portrayed in this film more as a pro than a con.
However, when we get into the real meat of the movie, things get decidedly strange – especially when you look closer. For a start, the story is very loosely based on real events and covers the very real Bosnian War to the point that it’s most major plot point concerns civilians being executed and placed in a mass grave. In fact, one of the most memorable scenes involves Wilson playing dead in a nightmarish pile of muddy bodies to evade capture and that has him crawling out of it like he’s clawing his way out of Hell. This should mean that the film is a hard hitting look at a particularly vicious conflict, but while the tone of the film sometimes reflects the gravity of very real atrocities, other times its more than happy to be a freewheeling action rollercoaster with snappy banter and cool action sequences.
There’s a breathless fighter jet vs missile sequence that plays like a primitive trial run at Top Gun: Maverick, there’s numerous moments where Wilson sprints through deafening shell fire or a sequence of exploding mines and its all shot with the kind of peppy zip you’d get from an early Michael Bay movie. But while the action stuff is pretty good and the war stuff is genuinely harrowing, when you smush them together it creates such a weird clash of tones, it leaves you legitimately confused at how to feel and when you remember that it was released into US cinemas a month and a half after 9/11 which may of given cinemagoers the flag waving boost they dearly needed – but it’s still a little strange, no?
Maybe we shouldn’t be so confused about all the conflicting tones, needlessly (but fun) camera work and editing and some bizarre music choices when we realise it was directed by John Moore, the man responsible for some of the worst blockbusters in recent memory. While I would honestly class Behind Enemy Lines as a very watchable movie despite a rather deaf ear for tastefulness, Moore would go on to make the likes of Max Payne, the remake of The Omen and the franchise murdering A Good Day To Die Hard as if he was getting paid to punish and torment audiences for some unknown transgression.
Yes, you could argue that other films (such as the fourth Rambo movie) also play a little fast and loose with the ethics of an actual, recent conflict, but at least Rambo didn’t blare out Buck Rogers by Ash while indulging in a spot of military porn as the camera ogles a fighter jet. I haven’t even mentioned how much the villainous assassin resembles Nico Bellic from GTA 4 and rumour has it that he was even a major influence on the video game character… You see? Mental.
Still, despite tonal switches so abrupt it’ll make your stomach go over like you’re on a fairground ride, Behind Enemy Lines is rarely dull and if you can separate it from the unspeakable, real life acts that occurred at the time, chances are you’ll have quite a bit of fun. However, considering that the film came out a mere six years after the actual events and the man involved actually filed a suit against 20th Century Fox for defamation of character, Behind Enemy Lines may be the very definition of someone shrugging after a joke about a national disaster and asking “too soon?”.
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