...an old-school shoot-em-up with clear-cut villains to boo and clear-cut heroes to cheer.
Not even Hackman's typical self-assurance can save this stock military thriller. Coincidence piles upon coincidence as well, as split-second misses and split-second escapes substitute aimless action for drama or passion. Then it all ends in a farfetched blaze of heroics that would be hard to take in a tongue-in-cheek James Bond outing. "Behind Enemy Lines" is the kind of war movie I thought went out of style a long, long time ago.
Video:
As usual, I have to commend Twentieth Century Fox for the quality of their DVD transfer. The picture and sound are superior to most of what one normally sees on disc. The 2.09:1 anamorphic ratio widescreen displays excellent image clarity and definition, so good I was prompted to check the bit rate, which was, as I expected, quite high. Colors, sometimes purposely muted, are nonetheless natural, often deep and rich, with a good differentiation in light and dark areas of the screen. Some mild instances of line fluctuation and the occasional intrusion of grain, possibly from the master print, were the only minor drawbacks.
Audio:
The audio is available in both Dolby Digital 5.1 and DTS 5.1. In DD 5.1 one notices immediately the effective use of the surround channels with the sounds of jet planes flying around an aircraft carrier. The additional, well-positioned sounds of wind, gunfire, and the inevitable helicopters front and rear provide a realistically three-dimensional soundscape. Factor in good, wide frequency response, deep bass, and strong dynamics and the combination becomes potent, indeed. Now, if only it weren't so loud and bright, it might have been perfect, but it's close enough.
Extras:
Bonus features come up reasonably well on the disc, too, considering the film was never a "Star War" blockbuster. The first items are the major ones, a pair of audio commentaries, one with director John Moore and editor Martin Smith and another with producers John Davis and Wyck Godfrey. Of course, you would have to sit through the film two more times to enjoy them, but for the dedicated war-film lover, that might not be such a chore. Then, there are seven extended and deleted scenes with optional commentary by the director and editor. There is a six-minute behind-the-scenes featurette to give a brief feel for the filming of the movie, plus twenty-eight scene selections and a theatrical trailer for the film "Minority Report" but, oddly, none for this film. How could Fox not have had a trailer on hand for so recent a movie? English and Spanish are offered as spoken languages, with English captioning.
Parting Shots:
No doubt the ending of "Behind Enemy Lines" will leave some viewers cheering, and for those folks who want to indulge themselves in a little patriotic chauvinism, the movie delivers all the relevant timber for doing so.
As for "Behind Enemy Lines" being a great or even a good film, however, it offers little in the way of plot or character development and little of basic filmmaking technique that we haven't seen done before and better. In the long run, the movie is simply an old-school shoot-em-up with clear-cut villains to boo and clear-cut heroes to cheer. If it makes you feel good, the movie succeeds. If it leaves you feeling empty, the movie fails. For me, I felt famished by the time it was over.
Video:
As usual, I have to commend Twentieth Century Fox for the quality of their DVD transfer. The picture and sound are superior to most of what one normally sees on disc. The 2.09:1 anamorphic ratio widescreen displays excellent image clarity and definition, so good I was prompted to check the bit rate, which was, as I expected, quite high. Colors, sometimes purposely muted, are nonetheless natural, often deep and rich, with a good differentiation in light and dark areas of the screen. Some mild instances of line fluctuation and the occasional intrusion of grain, possibly from the master print, were the only minor drawbacks.
Audio:
The audio is available in both Dolby Digital 5.1 and DTS 5.1. In DD 5.1 one notices immediately the effective use of the surround channels with the sounds of jet planes flying around an aircraft carrier. The additional, well-positioned sounds of wind, gunfire, and the inevitable helicopters front and rear provide a realistically three-dimensional soundscape. Factor in good, wide frequency response, deep bass, and strong dynamics and the combination becomes potent, indeed. Now, if only it weren't so loud and bright, it might have been perfect, but it's close enough.
Extras:
Bonus features come up reasonably well on the disc, too, considering the film was never a "Star War" blockbuster. The first items are the major ones, a pair of audio commentaries, one with director John Moore and editor Martin Smith and another with producers John Davis and Wyck Godfrey. Of course, you would have to sit through the film two more times to enjoy them, but for the dedicated war-film lover, that might not be such a chore. Then, there are seven extended and deleted scenes with optional commentary by the director and editor. There is a six-minute behind-the-scenes featurette to give a brief feel for the filming of the movie, plus twenty-eight scene selections and a theatrical trailer for the film "Minority Report" but, oddly, none for this film. How could Fox not have had a trailer on hand for so recent a movie? English and Spanish are offered as spoken languages, with English captioning.
Parting Shots:
No doubt the ending of "Behind Enemy Lines" will leave some viewers cheering, and for those folks who want to indulge themselves in a little patriotic chauvinism, the movie delivers all the relevant timber for doing so.
As for "Behind Enemy Lines" being a great or even a good film, however, it offers little in the way of plot or character development and little of basic filmmaking technique that we haven't seen done before and better. In the long run, the movie is simply an old-school shoot-em-up with clear-cut villains to boo and clear-cut heroes to cheer. If it makes you feel good, the movie succeeds. If it leaves you feeling empty, the movie fails. For me, I felt famished by the time it was over.
Average user rating (1-5):
[release]9881[/release]