I just saw "Behind Enemy Lines"

That’s right, I just saw this movie and I think it totally rocks. I can’t describe the photography correctly, but it looks like a lot of stop action, zoom in and exaggerated coloring if that makes any sense. I won’t post any spoilers (yet), but I will later on if I get any follow-on comments. Let me know how you liked the movie.

Great flick! Plotwise, it was your typical action movie, not a whole lot of brainpower required. There were a couple of things, though, that really made me like it.

  1. Owen Wilson. Never saw him in anything other than a comical role before this, and he’s got a lot more charisma than I gave him credit for.

  2. Special effects. The missile-chase scene (won’t describe any more than that to avoid spoilers) was one of the most seamless pieces of special effect magic I’ve ever seen.

  3. Overall casting. The bad guys were extremely well cast. And Sasha was just so damn… EVIL.

  4. Location and scenery. Very picturesque and made you believe the actors were truly present in Bosnia. And a couple of the settings made the hair on the back of my neck stand up in horror.

  5. Excitement. Very seldom did I find the pace slackening. It kept me interested throughout the whole movie, and it was extremely exciting.

That said, there were some glaring deficiencies – they got some of the weaponry wrong, and there were a couple of scenes where you just couldn’t believe that Owen Wilson would be so STUPID. (Yeah, let’s just sit out in the open when there’s a bazillion soldiers hunting me…) And the jump at the ending was pretty ridiculous. But overall, I thought it was a great time – just turn your brain off and watch the pretty show!

Just saw it today. Loved it! It was just the right amount brainless action for an entertaining Sunday afternoon. I agree with pretty much everything Zanshin said. If you turn your brain off, it’s a good ride.

My big gripe, what’s with all the Saving Private Ryan photography lately? The action scenes were filmed in this grainey, shaky camera, speed-up-the-action-at-weird-parts kind of way. Parts of Spy Game were filmed this way as well. I seem to remember a few others recently, but not off the top of my head.

Anyway, good movie. Perfect timing too. I’m sure patriotic movies will be coming out of our asses soon.

I also just saw this, tonight (about an hour ago)

The hand-held “Blair-Witch” cam only went so far with me. After a while I’d like to linger a bit longer on the shots. But that’s a personal gripe.

I would have liked to see more aftermath in the ending. Bring it more closure. Sometimes the music got in the way. I love alternative and metal, but not when it’s cranked over the voice track.

I agree with Zanshin about hiding in wide open sight for every gun totting half blind recruit to shoot at you. But I think it was a trick akin to teenagers in slasher flicks who ALWAYS go in the basement. It’s intended to make you bark at the screen.

But mindless fun it was (Enemy Lines), I can’t deny.

Jet Black

Go find a copy of The Minus Man. If you see it you’ll agree with me that Owen Wilson is one of the creepiest actors alive :slight_smile: