Joaquim de Almeida (who is Portuguese, not Italian!) portrays what can be described as a villain that does his job swiftly and without notice, as a great villain does. Great performance by an actor who should be more celebrated and acknowledged than he is today.Owen Wilson shows to an audience what he can do as an actor. He can be great as a comedian but I've enjoyed this 'realistic' performance way better than others. Terrific performance, where one could feel the pressure and the stress of the character as it is forced to deal with life threatening issues.Gene Hackman as the Admiral also presents to us how hard can be to lead men. I don't care if real Admirals can't be like Father figures or they seldom do. Leading men is much more than barking out orders. Real leaders who know what they are doing should be proud to be depicted as this Admiral. Gene Hackman is a great actor and this movie (once again) proves it.Behind Enemy Lines is a great movie to watch and to feel as long as you watch it as intended - as a movie! - and not as a documentary. As for the military men who are currently serving - be safe out there!8 out of 10!

Very sorry to see this movie, ...still playing on some TV Channels. Simply, the concept of whole Army of Serbs, ultimately chasing and fully firing by all weapons to kill American solder, is out of mind, even disgusting.Sure, there is no indication: "based on true story". Can not be. Bad fictional trash. Also, it's on honor of movie director, and actors. As I noted, some actors when role offered, refused. Also, all Serbs were played by actors from Poland, Slovakia, Croatia,… Yeah, we all like the movies, like to see clear: Good Guys and Bad Guys, but this one is too far, like cartoon, …simply not fair, showing my nation as the worst maniacs. Very unfair, and incorrect… Serbia should finally try to do some diplomacy action, regarding this movie… Hope above didn't offense anybody. Many thanks.

Well despite what others thought I really enjoyed this. I hadn't seen it in ages and had a great time watching it again, a thrill ride with solid characters, excellent special effects, and some cool looking camera work. Just as an FYI this is a great movie to watch on the treadmill as it's essentially just one long chase sequence set to some decent music.It does get a bit rah-rah-ridiculous during the final climax, flag waving and just OTT bordering on silly but whatever I was still entertained.This never slowed down, sure you can question the believability of events but I just enjoyed the ride, as our hero runs through exploding minefields, slides down the side of a dam, and hides in a pile of dead bodies with the enemy just inches away from him. There's a scene in a defunct factory/minefield where one of the bad guys suffers the shock waves of a (grenade) blast in slow motion, I've never seen anything like it, well done. The fighter jet scenes while being targeted by a missile reminded me of 'Top Gun', but were still exciting.The story follows Owen Wilson as a navy pilot who is shot down over enemy territory and then struggles to get to his extraction point while surviving the relentless pursuit of a deadly tracker/sniper and countless hostile troops. With his rescue mission is delayed by politics, commanding officer (Gene Hackman) goes against orders to bring him home.I liked seeing Owen Wilson in this downplayed action role, he did a great job as did Hackman, but he's playing a familiar character. Vladimir Mashkov is chilling as the Serbian sniper dude too. 2/23/16

Having just seen this 2001 movie and read several of the negative comments, I can understand that anyone viewing it with first hand knowledge of the Bosnian conflict or the US Navy might dismiss it, but as I have neither of these I just watched it because Gene Hackman was in it and I expected a decent thriller. From where I sat in my armchair I just watched it and became completely hooked on what I found to be one of the best chase movies I've ever watched and I do love chase movies (ie: The Naked Prey, Chato's Land). The aerial scenes are spectacularly filmed and I found the tension thoroughly gripping throughout. I watch films on the whole from the point of view of the director and writers endeavouring to entertain us. Reality very often has to be put aside because I know from a film maker's point of view, it doesn't always translate to entertaining viewing, so facts get corrupted for the benefit of a good night out. I can accept this, although many critics have trouble with it. (ie: another movie I loved: Braveheart). So Behind Enemy Lines goes into one of my favourite films I've watched recently. Usual superb acting from the now retired Gene Hackman and a surprising decent turn from lead Owen Wilson. 9 stars from me. Loses one star for not being able to kill Wilson's character with the huge arsenal of weapons available.