A film celebrated by audiences as “the best war action movie” ever made is screening on television tonight.
Featuring Owen Wilson and Gene Hackman, the blockbuster originally debuted in 2001.
It recounts the fictional tale of Lieutenant Chris Burnett, an American naval flight officer who is just weeks from abandoning his military career before embarking on one final mission over Serbian territory.
There, his aircraft is brought down, and he finds himself battling for survival as he uncovers genocide during the Bosnian war.
Meanwhile, Rear Admiral Leslie McMahon Reigart desperately struggles to secure authorisation to launch the combat search and rescue operation to retrieve Burnett, reports Wales Online.
View 4 ImagesBehind Enemy Lines has been branded ‘underrated'(Image: 20th Century Fox/YouTube)
Behind Enemy Lines, set in 1995, also features Gabriel Macht, Joaquim de Almeida, David Keith and Olek Krupa.
Airing on Film4 on Monday evening, audiences have praised it as “absolutely incredible” and “underrated”.
One viewer wrote: “Behind Enemy Lines is one of the most underrated films of all time. Owen Wilson delivers a performance of a lifetime; Gene Hackman is his stalwart best and I fail to comprehend why this movie does not stand among the ranks of popular titles such as Black Hawk Down and American Sniper.”
Another remarked: “It’s one of the best war action movies. Must watch for war action movie lovers.”
View 4 ImagesIt first premiered in 2001(Image: 20th Century Fox/YouTube)
“This movie is the best I have ever seen,” one enthusiast echoed, while another declared it “the best war survival and escape film ever made”.
Many hailed it as “excellent,” while another described it as “superb! A must-see,” going on to say: “This one keeps your attention from beginning to end. And it’s disappointing that it ends when it does only because it’s so extremely entertaining and edge-of-the-seat captivating.”
Someone else declared it “brutal, breathtaking, brilliant”, while yet another proclaimed: “Possibly the most underrated war movie ever.”
In a past interview, Marley and Me actor Owen admitted: “I couldn’t really see myself playing a real action hero, the way I see Stallone or Schwarzenegger I wouldn’t buy myself something in that.
View 4 ImagesOwen Wilson stars in the war action film(Image: 20th Century Fox/YouTube)
“But in this part, there’s nothing superhero about my character, he’s a normal guy.
“A fighter pilot, he’s just trying to survive, he’s just put in a situation where he’s forced to react.”
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Speaking of the difference between comedies and a movie like this, he added: “The director would kid me because I’d show up in the morning and be like, what are we doing today? And he goes, you’re going to be running, believe it or not.
“Because so much of it was like running through the woods or digging through the mud, and that was the difference between making a comedy and making a movie like this.”
Behind Enemy Lines airs from 6.55pm on Film4 on Monday, June 22.