hanks to the Cincinnati Accord, a ceasefire in Bosnia remains, though military attitudes surrounding it, including those of NATO interests, are shaky at best. Aboard an aircraft carrier in the Adriatic Sea, Navy F-18 pilot Lieutenant Chris Burnett (Owen Wilson), call sign “Longhorn,” is one such consternated soldier. With politics and corruption heavily muddying the waters, Burnett is upset over continually shifting allegiances and a lack of clearcut purposes; he can’t understand why their missions don’t directly resemble standard wartime procedures. So much of their time feels insincere and meaningless.

“I can’t do it anymore. I’m done.” But those routines, system checks, and maintaining of discipline are, in fact, the tasks necessary to keep a wartime readiness, as insisted by Admiral Leslie McMahon Reigart (Gene Hackman). Nevertheless, navigator Burnett wants out, and he’s due to leave in two weeks. But with his questionable attitude, he finds himself, alongside pilot Lieutenant Jeremy Stackhouse (Gabriel Macht), call sign “Smoke,” assigned to a holiday flight as an obvious punishment. What should have been a final, boring reconnaissance mission, however, becomes catastrophic when Chris surveys a restricted area – from which two missiles are launched.

Though it doesn’t start with much excitement, it’s not long before aerial maneuvers turn thrilling. Computer-animated sequences threaten to take viewers out of the mayhem, but numerous shots are still amusing as the two Navy airmen find themselves stranded behind enemy lines in the hostile lands of Bosnia & Herzegovina, where Serbian troops patrol. The other element that definitely doesn’t help the tension is the soundtrack, comprised of a very unfitting medley of pop songs. Wilson’s character is designed to be something of a goofball (the actor is an unusual choice for an action film), with a personality better suited for a raunchy comedy set in a frat house. But at least that generates a contrast when the situation transforms into one of life-or-death; the music, unfortunately, shatters any sense of severity during the introductory moments (and again toward the finale). The film does have the smarts to segue into darker orchestral arrangements once Burnett is under attack in enemy territory, but the cinematography then takes its place by utilizing equally inappropriate, modern methods of overactive movements, rapid cuts, blurred imagery, freeze frames, black-and-white flashbacks (as well as the frustratingly pandering flashbacks to mere minutes prior), and superfluous slow-motion.

On the plus side, the premise is simple yet effective. A couple of superb stunts and clever ideas help to intensify the plight of a lone survivor evading armed forces scouring the foothills for him, modeled marginally like a James Bond adventure when a specific set of villains and henchmen are designed to be memorable and badly deserving of over-the-top deaths. The antagonists are one-dimensional but easily identifiable, specifically arranged to be a series of unique obstacles posing individualistic threats, each garnering striking demises.

As for the heroes, Hackman is once again exceptional (getting to deliver the only allowed “hard” curse in this PG-13-rated picture), capable of appearing genuine almost without trying, while Joaquim de Almeida as rivalrous Admiral Piquet offers up the infuriatingly sensible position of treading lightly so as not to complicate a delicate political imbroglio. Honor and duty don’t always line up with fragile treaties built by duplicitous players. Curiously, there aren’t any major or supporting female roles; even background women barely get a line or two of generic chatter. But by the end, the combat sequences are rather momentous, from abrupt transitions into war zones to convincing costuming and props (the use of military equipment proves vital to the visual authenticity) to various explosive shootouts and confrontations. “Behind Enemy Lines” isn’t one of the great war movies, again and again disrupted by poor editing choices (and a bizarre coda for fictional characters, even if it bears a loose resemblance to an actual incident involving a downed Air Force captain in Bosnia), but it’s still modest entertainment.

– Mike Massie