Behind Enemy Lines - Action packed dramatic retelling

It makes me feel old when I actually remember the real story unfolding on the news which I'm now watching on the big screen, but I recall the reports of an American pilot who'd been shot down over hostile terrain in Eastern Europe during the mid nineties.  I'm not claiming to be a historical expert on the subject and it was about six years before I watched the same story on the big screen where Owen Wilson plays - an uncharacteristically serious role of - a fighter pilot who gets shot down during a routine recon mission while Gene Hackman plays the military man desperately trying to figure out a way of getting him back.

As I mentioned, I don't know how 'historically accurate' this film's story is, but it does make a most enjoyable romp.  Now, whether you know how the story turned out in real life doesn't really come into it, the film is very tense.  It also does a good job at depicting a different war-like setting, rather than the typical desert (of more recent wars), or previous conflicts like jungles and general World War II locations.

You will certainly root for Wilson as he's completely the underdog when his long, arduous trek across hostile territory isn't helped by a local mercenary/hitman who is almost like a human Terminator in his relentless pursuit of Wilson.  Of course Gene Hackman is always worth a watch and adds a heavyweight actor's name to the cast list.  However, the film's action set pieces definitely help make this film more than just a B-movie.  They really do their best to be a little different and some of the scenes such as when the plane is first shot down by a heat-seeking missile and also a certain scene with landmines later on, will certainly stay with you after the credits have rolled.

Whether you look at this film as a historical reenactment of a true event, or just a modern day war movie, it's definitely worth a watch - maybe just to see Owen Wilson is a role where he doesn't play it for laughs.

7/10 if I woke up on Groundhog Day and had to watch this again, I could live with that