Behind Enemy Lines

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2:24

Behind Enemy Lines

PG-13

2001

1h 46m

Action

War

Mystery & Thriller

Drama

Adventure

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

36%

Tomatometer

132 Reviews

62%

Popcornmeter

250,000+ Ratings

A Navy pilot (Owen Wilson) is shot down over enemy territory, and struggles to survive the relentless pursuit of a ruthless secret police enforcer, a deadly tracker, and countless hostile troops. With time running out, the injured pilot's commanding officer (Gene Hackman) goes against orders to carry out a desperate rescue mission.

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Critics Consensus

The plot for Behind Enemy Lines is more jingoistic than credible, and the overload of flashy visual tricks makes the action sequences resemble a video game.

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Nell Minow

Common Sense Media

10/14/2010

4/5

Action movie with intense peril and devastation.

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Jeff Strickler

Minneapolis Star Tribune

11/06/2002

The filmmakers do their best to distract us, but eventually it becomes hard to ignore that Behind Enemy Lines is one long chase sequence.

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Steven D. Greydanus

Decent Films

05/09/2002

B+

Goes over the top and beyond in grandly heroic and even superheroic style, in a way unmatched by any war movie since Rambo: First Blood Part II.

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David Nusair

Reel Film Reviews

Feb 22

2/4

...an effort that slowly-but-surely squanders its solid premise and impressive cast...

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Mike Massie

Gone With The Twins

03/02/2025

5/10

It isn’t one of the great war movies, again and again disrupted by poor editing choices, but it’s still modest entertainment.

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Mitchell Beaupre

Paste Magazine

09/22/2022

3.5/10

Drearily gauzed over with a blue-tinted aesthetic, peppered with questionable depictions of its antagonistic forces and featuring a woefully miscast Owen Wilson in the leading role, there’s not a lot to admire about the film.

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Crazy P

@RT75776803 Apr 3

Owen Wilson didn't seem like he was going to be a good character for this movie but it actually turned out surprisingly interesting.

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Andy K.

@Andilucus Mar 13

The people who made this movie think you’re stupid.

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Los G

@Losmax Oct 11

The critics are unkind to this. There's nothing particularly new here, but it's a solid actioner, with a few very exciting sequences.

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thiago s

@Thiagostone Aug 30

Filme fraco, o roteiro é fraco, as cenas são fracas, a história é fraca, o elenco é fraco, e ninguém ajuda a melhorar o filme, os personagens são fracos, e o filme deveria ter cenas bem melhores e relevantes, para fazer o filme ser bom

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David G.

@CacheMoney 07/10/2025

Great movie from when I was younger. Still a darn good movie. Also, it is loosely based on a true story.

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David H

@RT60765788 05/26/2025

The critics are stupid this is an excellent movie

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Behind Enemy Lines: Trailer 1

2:24

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Synopsis

A Navy pilot (Owen Wilson) is shot down over enemy territory, and struggles to survive the relentless pursuit of a ruthless secret police enforcer, a deadly tracker, and countless hostile troops. With time running out, the injured pilot's commanding officer (Gene Hackman) goes against orders to carry out a desperate rescue mission.

Director: John Moore
Producer: John Davis
Screenwriter: David Veloz, Zak Penn, Jim Thomas, John Thomas
Distributor: 20th Century Fox
Production Co: 20th Century Fox, Davis Entertainment
Rating: PG-13 (War Violence|Some Language)
Genre: Action, War, Mystery & Thriller, Drama, Adventure
Original Language: Czech
Release Date (Theaters): Nov 30, 2001, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Nov 25, 2015
Box Office (Gross USA): $58.9M
Runtime: 1h 46m
Sound Mix: Dolby Stereo, Dolby A, SDDS, Surround, Dolby Digital, Dolby SR
Aspect Ratio: Scope (2.35:1)