Grade: B

Verdict: B-movie bluster and Owen Wilson's broken-nose appeal overcome a formula script.

Details: Starring Owen Wilson and Gene Hackman. Directed by John Moore. Rated PG-13 for violence and language. One hour, 55 minutes.

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Review: I happened to catch “Behind Enemy Lines” with a smattering of Pearl Harbor veterans, and if it's good enough for them, it's good enough for me. That doesn't make this flag-waving chunk of gung-ho machismo a good movie. But it's certainly far from a bad one.

“Behind Enemy Lines” combines the blunt bluster of a solid B-movie with the hairbreadth escapes of a man-on-the-run flick. Then it's sprinkled with vintage Jerry Bruckheimer dust: high-impact special effects, a relentless rock score and some flashy camerawork. It is loud. It is formulaic. It's also, more often than not, a thumping good time at the movies.

Hot-dog Navy pilot Chris Burnett (Owen Wilson) is stationed on the USS Carl Vinson, where he and his mates are supposed to watch what's left of the Balkans tear itself to pieces. Much like Henry Fonda's Mister Roberts, Burnett itches to get into the fight, not sit on the sidelines. He gets his wish — and then some — when he's shot down on a routine photo reconnaissance mission.

“Use your training,” says the tough-love Adm. Reigert (Gene Hackman). “Use your head. Survive and evade.”

And that's your movie.

Director John Moore has the requisite commercial credits (Guinness, Sega), but he's also done time as a news cameraman.

He knows he's making a Hollywood movie, and he knows it could be his meal ticket. So he pours on the bombs-away bravado and tries to ignore the bomb of a script (which includes an insulting and misleading coda that may make people think this is based on a true story).

OK, so we've got the bulletproof hero. The honor among military men. The really neat aerial stuff.

Yet the movie also gives us some welcome touches of ambiguity. Of course, Hackman can do his role in his sleep (he already has; check out “Uncommon Valor”). But he still brings his built-in authority and presence.

As for Wilson, hopefully this film will move him up a couple of notches on the casting lists. He's very good here, a resourceful action hero with a sense of humor. Add those Sean Penn eyes and that broken-nose charm, and, if used right, this guy is money in the bank.

— Eleanor Ringel Gillespie, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution