Review of Behind Enemy Lines (2001) by Forgedsledge — 26 Feb 2023

Imagine, some Saturday afternoon roughly 20ish years ago, I had just finished up watching a movie on a "free HBO weekend" (those were a thing) and with nothing else better to watch I started what would become one of my favorite military movies of all-time, Behind Enemy Lines.

I nearly turned it off at first because it starred Owen Wilson, an actor who was in a string of annoying comedy films that I refused to watch, but I decided to give it a chance and... I'm so glad I did.

While Owen Wilson jokes around on a couple of occasions, this is far from a comedy. While the setup is simple, a fighter pilot and his navigator (Wilson) go on a routine reconnaissance mission when they're shot down and crash behind enemy lines, it's what follows that makes the movie great.

Gene Hackman is a commanding presence as always, and Wilson is witty and actually kinda likeable as an action star. While it's far from an Oscar award winning movie, it's still a fun popcorn flick.