Behind Enemy Lines

Play trailer

2:24

Behind Enemy Lines

PG-13

2001

1h 46m

Action

War

Mystery & Thriller

Drama

Adventure

Play Trailer

Watchlist

Watchlist

Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

35%

Tomatometer

133 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.

Watch on Fandango

Stream Now

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.

Read Critics Reviews

Nell Minow

Common Sense Media

10/14/2010

4/5

Action movie with intense peril and devastation.

Go to Full Review

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.

Go to Full Review

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.

Go to Full Review

Yasser Medina

Cinefilia

2d

5/10

On average, it's a war film that loses its way with a predictable and noisy narrative that puts Owen Wilson running around amidst a stilted patriotism. [Full review in Spanish]

Go to Full Review

David Nusair

Reel Film Reviews

Feb 22

2/4

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

Go to Full Review

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.

Go to Full Review

Read all reviews

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.

See more

Andy K.

@Andilucus Mar 13

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

See more

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.

See more

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

See more

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.

See more

David H

@RT60765788 05/26/2025

The critics are stupid this is an excellent movie

See more

Read all reviews

Read More

Read Less

WRITE A REVIEW

EDIT REVIEW

POST RATING

John Moore

Director

Owen Wilson

Burnett

Gene Hackman

Reigart

Gabriel Macht

Stackhouse

Charles Malik Whitfield

Rodway

Joaquim de Almeida

Piquet

Live Free or Die Hard

82%

86%

Live Free or Die Hard

Watchlist

The Sentinel

34%

41%

The Sentinel

Watchlist

The Bourne Identity

84%

93%

The Bourne Identity

Watchlist

TRAILER

for The Bourne Identity

The Sum of All Fears

58%

49%

The Sum of All Fears

Watchlist

Saints and Soldiers

64%

77%

Saints and Soldiers

Watchlist

Discover more movies and TV shows.

View More

Behind Enemy Lines: Trailer 1

2:24

View more videos

View more photos

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)