Behind Enemy Lines

More questionable logic: It's tough to believe that an Admiral (Gene Hackman) would defy NATO orders to rescue a downed pilot, AND don helmet and flight suit to lead the mission himself. Come on, that's the kind of stuff you'd expect in a Rambo movie! Then again, nobody thought of those Stallone flicks as a transcript of actual military events, so my theory is simple: if you watch "Behind Enemy Lines" as if it were Jet Li instead of Own Wilson and make a big bowl of popcorn, the whole thing becomes more enjoyable.

Director John Moore cut his teeth on commercials, and maybe that explains his apparent fondness for visual gimmickry. He loves slo-mo 360s and flash- and skip-print images that quickly (and jerkily) provide a kind of slide show. As for the video game aspect, from the control room we see heat-sensitive technology picking up on the hero's warm body and those of the enemy that converge around him. Add an impressive sequence where two heat-seeking missiles go after their F-18 and you get more than a few scenes that will remind you of gaming. The game in "Behind Enemy Lines" is pretty simple. Run Lieutenant Burnett from point A to point B before Sasha or the enemy troops can track him down and kill him.

Video:
"Behind Enemy Lines" was transferred to a 25GB single-layer disc using AVC technology at 18MBPS, presented in 1080p HD resolution at a 2.35:1 aspect ratio. You can't complain about the picture quality. It's pretty pristine. Even with a drab palette or low lighting, there's an incredible amount of detail.

Audio:
The showcase audio option is an uncompressed English DTS HD 5.1 Master Lossless, with lesser Dolby Digital 5.1 options available in Spanish and French. Subtitles are in English (CC) or Spanish. As with the picture, the sound is crisp and clean. In terms of picture and sound, this Blu-ray will make a nice addition to your HD library.

Extras:
Along with the theatrical trailer there are two full commentaries, one featuring director John Moore and editor Martin Smith, and the other with producers John Davis and Wyck Godfrey. The former is mostly self-referential and anecdotal, with most of the time spent on how much time or trouble this shot or that shot turned out to be, or how they settled on the actors. There are more genuine insights in the latter commentary. M.I.A. on this Blu-ray are the deleted scenes from the standard release.

Bottom Line:
Compared to "Stealth," another quasi-military film that's mostly action involving a downed flier, "Behind Enemy Lines" looks positively brilliant. Although "Stealth" had all the requisite blasts, stunts, and high-tech CGI effects to make for a decent action film, it was woefully disappointing in its script and performances. The dialogue was cheesy and the characters so cardboard you could knock them down with a ping-pong ball. Though this screenplay by David Veloz and Zak Penn isn't going to be mistaken for anything award-winning, at least it has mostly decent dialogue, the story moves along nicely, and the performances are light years better than they were in "Stealth." It's an okay popcorn movie. Just don't mistake "Behind Enemy Lines" for anything remotely factual.

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