A teaming of Robert Redford and Brad Pitt seems like a long overdue reward for fans who first caught Pitt in Redford's directorial feature, \A River Runs Through It."" ""River"" was one of Pitt's first big starring roles, and back then critics were already comparing them, calling Pitt a young Robert Redford.
So it's interesting to see how they match up on screen in this spy thriller. However, the chemistry that they do have isn't quite enough to make up for the two major mistakes the film makes.
Mistake No. 1: too many gimmicky camera tricks. Instead of focusing on the plot, director Tony Scott uses every camera movement in the book, including retrograde zooms, slo-mo, jump cuts and, in the many scenes that revolve solely around an office table at the CIA headquarters, about 30 rack focuses. All of this feels too distracting, and most are there to merely make up for what is lacking in plot.
Which brings us to mistake No. 2: the plot. There are quite a few exciting and entertaining segments, including a training montage where Redford passes information onto Pitt in a half dozen exotic-looking locales. However, the story revolves too often around talking heads, as opposed to many real action scenes. And though the whole film revolves around Pitt's career and whether or not he'll get rescued by the end, the climax is over and done within a few brief, unexciting moments. Not only that, but the ""rescue"" isn't even explained to a degree of comprehensiveness'it's just glossed over like so much of the movie.
Not to say that the movie is all bad. There are some intense moments, and it's a lot of fun watching Redford pull some nifty tricks out of his bag of spy moves. It's just that in a spy thriller, we've come to expect more.
Actors know they have ""made it"" when people refer to them by name, rather than a phrase that starts with ""that one guy from (enter film title here)."" Well, over the past few years that blond guy with the dented nose from ""Shanghai Noon"" has proven himself a legitimate Hollywood star. Owen Wilson has finally made it. He can now choose his own scripts, make the big bucks and get the ladies.
In the past decade, Wilson has established himself as one of the true comedic geniuses of our time, both onscreen and off. Many know of his supporting roles in ""Meet the Parents"" and ""Zoolander,"" but he is also an accomplished screenwriter who, with director/buddy Wes Anderson, has penned the hilariously brilliant films ""Bottle Rocket"" and ""Rushmore.""
Few would question the talents of Wilson the comedian or Wilson the writer'but Wilson the action hero? The latter phrase doesn't seem to fit. In fact, it seems more like a joke itself. There is a legitimate reason it sounds so awkward; Owen Wilson has never played a serious ""hero."" Maybe it was a vanity project, maybe he came down with a little case of Schwartzenegger-itis, but something convinced him to star in the new military thriller ""Behind Enemy Lines.""
Not to question the quality of this movie (that comes in a minute) or Wilson's acting ability, but he doesn't exactly fit into the typical hero role. Action heroes are supposed to be tough guys who eat nails for breakfast and say cool stuff like ""Yippee ki-yeh mother..."" you get the point. Casting Wilson as this film's superguy makes it a little too real. It's like watching one of your friends on the screen dodging gunfire and explosions nonstop without breaking a sweat (speaking of gunfire, the bad guys in this movie must have gone to the A-Team school of sharp shooting, but that's another issue).
With Wilson in the front seat, you would expect this to be an action-comedy; surprisingly it's an action-wannabe drama instead. He stars as Lt. Chris Burnett, a Navy fighter pilot whose plane is shot down by Serbian rebels while on a routine exercise. Though he survives the crash, Burnett is pursued throughout the Bosnian countryside by his attackers while he awaits rescue. The ""drama"" takes place back on Burnett's aircraft carrier, where his commanding officer (Gene Hackman) fights political opposition to send in a rescue team. Apparently, recovering a downed pilot violates some sort of Eastern European peace treaty.
In his first feature film, director John Moore assembles several spectacular action sequences. The breathtaking flight scene preceding the plane crash puts any clip from ""Top Gun"" to shame and the bullet-filled conclusion will give you those weird goose bumps that sometimes pop up from scenes of troop-motivating speeches or when the crowd chants ""Rudy."" Admit it, everyone gets them. Unfortunately, with all of the money spent on bullets, the producers should have invested in a steady-cam. Throughout the movie it seems like the cameraman is either drunk or one of those kids from ""The Blair Witch Project.""
Being one of the first military-themed films since the Sept. 11 attacks, ""Behind Enemy Lines"" has the difficult task of showing movie-style war without trivializing the real thing. It does this successfully, largely due to the simple fact that it doesn't take itself too seriously. That success can largely be credited to Wilson, whose demeanor keeps the tone of the film fairly lighthearted whether he wants to or not. Not bad for ""that one guy with the funny nose.""
