Opening

76% Fast & Furious 6 May 24
45% The Hangover Part III May 23
100% Epic May 24
96% Before Midnight May 24
67% We Steal Secrets: The Story Of Wikileaks May 24
83% Fill the Void May 24
—— A Green Story May 24
—— Alyce Kills May 24

Top Box Office

86% Star Trek Into Darkness $70.2M
78% Iron Man 3 $35.8M
49% The Great Gatsby $23.9M
46% Pain & Gain $3.2M
69% The Croods $3.0M
77% 42 $2.8M
56% Oblivion $2.3M
98% Mud $2.2M
37% Peeples $2.2M
8% The Big Wedding $1.2M

Coming Soon

—— After Earth May 31
—— Now You See Me May 31
88% The East May 31
100% The Kings of Summer May 31

Behind Enemy Lines (2001)

tomatometer

37

Average Rating: 4.8/10
Reviews Counted: 130
Fresh: 48 | Rotten: 82

The plot for Behind Enemy Lines is more jingoistic than credible, and the overload of flashy visual tricks makes the action sequences resemble a video game.

36

Average Rating: 4.5/10
Critic Reviews: 33
Fresh: 12 | Rotten: 21

The plot for Behind Enemy Lines is more jingoistic than credible, and the overload of flashy visual tricks makes the action sequences resemble a video game.

audience

65

liked it
Average Rating: 3.3/5
User Ratings: 301,118

My Rating

Movie Info

A television commercial for a Sega game system that aired during the 1999 MTV Music Video Awards landed debut director John Moore a gig behind the camera of this military action thriller. Owen Wilson stars as Lt. Chris Burnett, a naval aviator aboard the U.S.S. Carl Vinson who's frustrated with the strict "hands-off" political policies that prevent him from experiencing combat against hostile Bosnian forces in his F/A-18 Superhornet jet. Burnett's commander, Admiral Reigert (Gene Hackman),

Apr 23, 2002

$58.8M

20th Century Fox - Official Site External Icon

Watch It Now

Cast

ADVERTISEMENT

All Critics (148) | Top Critics (39) | Fresh (49) | Rotten (86) | DVD (32)

The filmmakers do their best to distract us, but eventually it becomes hard to ignore that Behind Enemy Lines is one long chase sequence.

November 6, 2002 Full Review Source: Minneapolis Star Tribune | Comment (1)
Minneapolis Star Tribune
Top Critic IconTop Critic

An old-fashioned game of the cinematic cat-and-mouse, soldier-on-the-run variety.

December 8, 2001
Washington Post
Top Critic IconTop Critic

The only thing certain about Behind Enemy Lines is that Mr. Wilson is in it for the chance to work with Mr. Hackman, and Mr. Hackman is in it for the money.

December 6, 2001 Full Review Source: New York Observer | Comment (1)
New York Observer
Top Critic IconTop Critic

Action movie with intense peril and devastation.

October 14, 2010 Full Review Source: Common Sense Media
Common Sense Media

From its prosaic title to its convenient timeliness, this valentine to U.S. military guys hamstrung by officious NATO bureaucrats could hardly seem less promising

January 7, 2005 Full Review Source: Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

That's just one of many reasons why I'm reluctant to call Behind the Lines entertainment. Propaganda, MTV-style, might be closer to the truth.

June 25, 2004 Full Review Source: Courier-Journal (Louisville, KY)

A satisfying enough piece of giddy-up entertainment that raises a few passing questions about the American 'cowboy mentality' before ultimately deciding it's a lot more fun to simply eat your action movie cake than try to have it too.

July 18, 2003 Full Review Source: Entertainment Today
Entertainment Today

Behind Enemy Lines crosses into the ugly side of patriotism.

May 30, 2003 Full Review
Northwest Herald (Crystal Lake, IL)

Plays more like a recruitment video for the US military than any serious examination of conflict.

January 30, 2003 Full Review Source: RTE Interactive (Dublin, Ireland)

Audience Reviews for Behind Enemy Lines

Behind Enemy Lines is a decent action film. The film is a departure for Owen Wilson who has worked exclusively in the comedy genre. Behind Enemy Lines is not a perfect film, but for what it is, the film succeeds somewhat at being entertaining despite the fact that the film at times fails at displaying a conventional, believable plot. If you can forget that aspect of the film, you may be able to enjoy it. I did like the film, but it's not one of those films that I'll watch again anytime soon. The film is entertaining for what it is, but it never does succeed at being an effective and good action that will really astound you. Owen Wilson is decent here, and Gene Hackman is wasted here however. The film could have been much better than this, but for the most part, it's a pleasant time waster that does entertain despite its somewhat ludicrous plot. The film is nothing I'd call great, but for what it is, it succeeds at being mindless entertainment. Behind Enemy Lines is a popcorn flick pure and simple. Though this film could have been better, Behind Enemy Lines is a decent film that manages to entertain, and be mindless, fun entertainment. The film could have been worse, but the end result is a decent action film that delivers some decent action despite the fact that the film lacks any strong plot development to really make this a memorable action film to watch. Worth watching at least once.
November 10, 2011
TheDudeLebowski65
Jeff "The Dude" Lebowski

Super Reviewer

Prepare to cross the line.

Very good movie! It's shocking to see Owen Wilson in this film since usually his roles are in comedies but he did quite good as a air force soldier. The story was interesting and in a few moments intense, not bat at all.

Lt. Chris Burnett has lost faith in his job in the Navy and wants to get out, and is even forced to do a reconnaissance mission with his friend Lt. Jeremy Stackhouse over Bosnia. During the mission, they fly their jet off course to check out a suspicious target that turns out to be the site of a mass grave that contains bodies of Bosnian Muslims. The main perpetrator of the massacre, Gen. Miroslav Lokar, has the plane shot down in order to avoid having the plane obtaining evidence of the massacre. Stackhouse ends up getting killed, while Burnett finds himself alone on the run from Lokar's ruthless soldiers. Burnett's commanding officer, Rear Admiral Leslie Reigart, has trouble gaining approval from his own commanding officers to carry out a search-and-rescue mission to save Burnett. From encountering a major battle in a war-torn town, to mine fields, to Serb soldiers seeking the pilot, and to a highly skilled sniper, will Burnett be able to escape Bosnia, or will he suffer the same fate of his comrade?
July 8, 2009
xXGiNoBiLiPRXx
Manu Gino

Super Reviewer

    1. Lt. Chris Burnett: You've got to be shitting me!
    – Submitted by Joseph B (9 months ago)
    1. Stackhouse: Yet another useless joyride at the cost of mere millions to the US taxpayer.
    – Submitted by Maxwell H (18 months ago)
    1. Reigart: Burnett! Zero six, you are a combat naval aviator. Start acting like one. You've been shot down. Life is tough. I am very sorry. Now you pull yourself together. You do whatever it takes. Create some angles between you and your pursuers. Use your training. Use your head. Evade and survive, and we will bring you home. Do you understand? We will bring you home!
    – Submitted by Dennis L (20 months ago)

Discussion Forum

There are no discussion threads for Behind Enemy Lines yet.

Latest News on Behind Enemy Lines

July 6, 2007:
Warner Bros. Planning a Remake of "The Dirty Dozen"
At first I was completely annoyed when I read the news. Then I heard who was writing the remake, and...

May 22, 2006:
An Evil Trio of "Omen" Clips
Breathlessly looking forward to June 6th so you can finally get a glimpse of the all-new Damien and...

April 28, 2006:
Thor, Hulk, Captain America ... and a Few More New Marvels
While the hiring of Jon Favreau as "Iron Man" director is pretty exciting movie-geek news,...

Help | About | Jobs | Critics Submission | API | Licensing | Mobile