Im Fadenkreuz – Allein gegen alle (2001)

Im Fadenkreuz – Allein gegen alle: Directed by John Moore. With Owen Wilson, Gene Hackman, Gabriel Macht, Charles Malik Whitfield. A disillusioned pilot shot down over war-torn Bosnia is ensnared in the conflict in war-torn Bosnia. In the crosshairs of the enemy and an assassin, the spoiled pilot runs for his life as his commanding officer risks all to save him.

“Letu0026#39;s see. Take one standard action film involving Americans, add in a new baddie for them to triumph over, and have the baddies act atrociously and brutally, then let the good guys be victorious in the end.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThat about sums up BEL. It has reasonable special effects, a plot that is simple and oh so seen before, and a square jawed handsome hero (although, looking at Wilsonu0026#39;s nose, not that handsome).u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003ePeople have already remarked on various inaccuracies and symbolism such as the angel in the midst of war etc. Instead of going over those Iu0026#39;d like to point out the overriding message this film taught me.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThat itu0026#39;s OK to disobey orders. Disobey them in such a way as to get your best friend killed. But thatu0026#39;s OK, because no matter what happens when you disobey orders, it all comes out good in the end. You feel better about yourself and youu0026#39;ll bring the bad guys to book. So donu0026#39;t worry about your best friend. He was only a plot device anyway.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eOne thing is certain, though. As long as there is conflict in the world, there will be a Hollywood movie to glorify it and vilify the enemy.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eAnd just who were the enemy? The Bosnians? The Serbs? The Croats? The film didnu0026#39;t seem very certain itself and neither was I, even at the end.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eParticularly laughable (and somewhat disturbing) in this no brainer action film was the dreadful end sequence, where we get to find out (via the wonder of the subtitled explanation) what happens to the main characters.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eNow, call me old-fashioned, but such final scene u0026quot;what they did nextu0026quot; stuff in my book is reserved for two types of film – comedy spoofs and documentaries. This film is certainly no comedy, so the appearance of these notes, to me, would seem to imply that the movie was in part based in reality. I find this disturbing simply because there are any number of extremely dumb people out there that would see such final comments and assume the film was, after all, based on true events. And itu0026#39;s this kind of u0026quot;it happened like thisu0026quot; cinema (which most often involves Americans saving the world) that concerns me most. U571 is another, now notorious, example of this. Apparently its true that history is written by the victors……u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eAs for the movie, the opening scenes are the most rewarding. Once the movie passes into its middle it becomes a bit dull and the ending, as others have observed, is more like a Rambo film and gets quite farcical.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe movie is best watched whilst a few drinks shy of inebriation. Youu0026#39;ll enjoy it more and not notice the foolishness (hopefully).”