In light of current events, audiences might view "Behind Enemy Lines" differently than they would have had the movie premiered at another time. As the American people search for heroes and a way to feel good about our country and its place in the world, they could be mislead by this flick’s gung ho military vibe and "Let’s bring our boy home" message. Moviegoers might overlook its shortcomings and lend the story more dramatic weight than it deserves. Please don’t do that.

"Behind Enemy Lines" is an action movie, plain and simple. Don’t go into the theater expecting anything more than a likable star being pursued here and yon by guys in black hats. While it uses a US military action as a backdrop, this movie has no agenda beyond delivering some decent chases and explosions. "Behind Enemy Lines" offers about as much insight into US foreign policy as "American Pie" did for relationships.

We could've renamed this movie Run Owen Run.

That said, "Behind Enemy Lines" is serviceable entertainment. A satisfactory action tale told in a unique setting with some pretty cool fireworks. Owen Wilson effectively steps up to the plate as a Navy navigator trapped "behind enemy lines" when his jet is shot down over war-torn Bosnia. While the movie doesn’t hit a home run, I’d say it manages a solid double play.

Wilson plays Chris Burnett, a cynical flyboy stationed on a Navy vessel guard-dogging a volatile area while NATO forces negotiate a cease-fire in the Bosnian conflict. If you want background on this matter, read Time Magazine because the script isn’t providing any. All you need to know is that the Navy is being sent home soon and Burnett and his pilot buddy fly missions more to keep a schedule than to keep the peace. Burnett is days away from a discharge and has become disillusioned with the military. He’s tired of baby-sitting missions and political scenarios. He yearns for a "fight he can understand" or at least a comfy civilian gig jetting rock stars around the globe.

Vladimir Mashkov's character is a cross between Boba Fett, a bloodhound and the Terminator.

Burnett’s attitude does not endear him to his commanding officer, tough-as-nails Admiral Reigart (played by Gene Hackman from "The Heist" and the upcoming "The Royal Tenenbaums," also with Wilson). Reigart feels Burnett’s being neglectful of his duty and thinks a recon assignment on Christmas Day will give him time to re-adjust his priorities. While everyone else on the ship is enjoying a sumptuous meal and Christmas carols, Burnett and his pilot are off on yet another routine flight. Or so they think.

A deviation off course to investigate a strange scanner reading reveals Serb forces burying massacred Muslim civilians in a secret mass grave. Burnett shoots digital pix of the site with his plane’s camera and then the Serbs promptly shoot him down. NATO doesn’t appreciate the murder of innocents at any time, but especially not when you’re engaged in peace talks. After surviving the crash, Burnett finds himself on the run. He’s pursued by the Serb forces as well as by a lone tracker (Vladimir Mashkov from "15 Minutes"), a stoic cross between Boba Fett, a bloodhound and the Terminator.

Burnett tries to elude capture while making his way to a safe zone for retrieval. All the while, he’s in radio contact with Reigart back at the ship, who must keep the younger man’s spirits up since his chances of escape aren’t good. Despite his desire to save him, Reigart can’t intercede until Burnett is beyond enemy territory. Interference by US forces could damage the fragile peace accord. He is kept at bay by the NATO commander, a petty bureaucrat played by Joaquim de Alameida (from "Desperado" and "Clear and Pleasant Danger").

This is the kind of role Hackman could fire off while sitting on the crapper, yet he still manages to imbue the character with strength and nobility.

"Behind Enemy Lines" is a competent hybrid of "Top Gun" and the "Fugitive." Its depiction of aerial combat is stunning, evoking the best parts of last summer’s "Pearl Harbor" (mostly a dud except for these moments) and the dogfights from Tom Cruise’s famous flyboy flick. The chase scenes are also memorable, especially one where Burnett evades a hail of gunfire by sliding down the side of a dam and another where he runs a gauntlet of trip-wired land mines. Wilson is put through his paces, always on the move throughout the entire flick.

While he’s accomplished at depicting high adrenaline mayhem, Director John Moore (a TV commercial vet making his first feature) relies too heavily on sweeping panoramic shots of a solitary Burnett nearly swallowed by the Bosnian wilderness. We get your point: he’s all alone. Plus, there are far too many images of our hero dashing through forests, mountains and deserted villages. I understand that this guy is running for his life, but we get soooo many shots of a hurrying Wilson that we could’ve renamed this movie, "Run Owen Run."

Wilson does a decent job as an action hero, following a string of sidekick roles in comedies like "Shanghai Noon" and "Zoolander." His genial personality and Texas drawl help flesh out his character and make him more believable. His Chris Burnett is more like Bruce Willis in "Die Hard" than Arnold Schwarzenegger in "Commando." You never feel that Burnett is a superhero. He’s just an ordinary guy in extraordinary circumstances, relying on his brain and his guts to survive.

Behind Enemy Lines serves us just what today's audiences are craving: Uncle Sam opening up a six-pack of whup-ass on the bad guys.

Burnett constantly stays one step ahead of the bad guys, who are generic heavies at best. In spite of the genocide subplot and Bosnian locale, these characters have no purpose beyond chasing our hero. The story could have been transplanted to WWII Europe with a horde of Nazis and been just as effective. The villains get few scenes and scant motivation outside of not wanting to get caught. Even the ominous tracker on Burnett’s trail has a total of maybe ten lines. "Don’t worry about the bad guys. Just watch my boy run," seems to be what the director is telling us.

As Reigart, the commanding officer who finds his rescue efforts derailed by an avalanche of red tape, Hackman is always worth watching. I’ve loved this guy since seeing him in the "Superman" movies when I was a kid. He owns any scene in which he appears. While other members of the old guard (DeNiro, Pacino and Hoffman, et al) get accolades for showy antics, Hackman earns points for his subtlety and restraint. This guy gets more oomph out of a steely glare than almost any other actor working today. Reigart is the kind of role Hackman could fire off while sitting on the crapper, yet he still manages to imbue him with strength and nobility.

The movie ends predictably, but enjoyably, with a showdown between Burnett and the tracker in the shadow of a shrapnel-scarred angel statue on a snow-covered hill. The setting and the contrast of their fatigues against the white backdrop give this typical mano-a-mano encounter added visual style. When the American forces finally arrive — and you know they will ("Rules be damned! Let’s bring our boy home!") — the filmmakers give us a righteous "Go USA" ending in all its star spangled glory.

Moore and his writers (Zak Penn from "The Last Action Hero" and David Veloz from "Natural Born Killers" with an assist from James and John Thomas of "Predator" fame) serve us just what today’s audiences are craving: Uncle Sam opening up a six-pack of whup-ass on the bad guys. Even so, "Behind Enemy Lines" is a fair action vehicle and probably won’t live long once it falls from the Top Ten. While this movie was completed long before the tragic events of the fall, it is undeniably reaping a few rewards from the patriotic fervor that occurred as a result. We will always need heroes, now more than ever, and especially ones with fortuitous timing.