History YMMV / BehindEnemyLines

* WTHCastingAgency: Creator/OwenWilson, who usually plays the platonic ideal of a laid-back everyman, as a military action hero? This becomes less surprising when one considers that Wilson attended a military junior college, but whether that makes him ''believable'' in the role of an action hero is up to the individual viewer (though for what it's worth, his character isn't an experienced, battle-hardened badass from the get-go, but rather an "in the rear with the gear" flight officer [[ActionSurvivor forced into badassery when his plane is shot down]]).

* WTHCastingAgency: Creator/OwenWilson, who usually plays the platonic ideal of a laid-back everyman, as a military action hero? This becomes less surprising when one considers that Wilson attended a military junior college, but whether that makes him ''believable'' in the role of an action hero is up to the individual viewer (though for what it's worth, his character isn't an experienced, battle-hardened badass from the get-go, but rather a flight officer [[ActionSurvivor forced into badassery when his plane is shot down]]).

* AcceptableEthnicTargets: While Bosniaks are shown as sympathetic oppressed people, the Bosnian Serbs are portrayed as immoral evil-intentioned war criminals by default. This being the Bosnian War, where the vast majority of war crimes were in fact committed by Serbs (particularly militias), this is unsurprising. The movie being made during the Kosovo War, when NATO bombed the Serbian army while they were committing similar crimes in Kosovo, surely contributed to this as well.

* ClicheStorm: Creator/RogerEbert criticised the movie for "recylcling two of the biggest cliches of bad war movies. Cliche number one - the immature hot dog showoff turns into a hero when the chips are down. Cliche number two - [[ImperialStormtrooperMarksmanshipAcademy the enemy can fire thousands of rounds of machine gun fire, rifle fire, tank fire and even missiles at the guy and never hit him, but when he fires back, well he never misses]]".

* HarsherInHindsight: The second film takes place in September 2004. If the [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ryanggang_explosion Ryanggang explosion]] really was caused by a SEAL team sabotaging a North Korean nuke, it obviously didn't take as North Korea successfully tested a nuclear bomb in October 2006.

* AcceptableTargets: While Bosniaks are shown as sympathetic oppressed people, the Bosnian Serbs are portrayed as immoral evil-intentioned war criminals by default. This being the Bosnian War, where the vast majority of war crimes were in fact committed by Serbs (particularly militias), this is unsurprising. The movie being made during the Kosovo War, when NATO bombed the Serbian army while they were committing similar crimes in Kosovo, surely contributed to this as well.

** Richard Roeper made fun of its use of "[[DressingAsTheEnemy the old switcheroo on the uniform]]" (though the trope does have a SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome when the switch gets his first rescue called off).

* WhatAnIdiot: Admiral Piquet claims he "doesn't know the difference" between the Serb, Croat and Muslim uniforms though he's been stationed in the area for five years. Only a dunce would fail to know that Serbs use the Cyrillic alphabet to represent Serbo-Croatian, while Croats use the Latin, and Bosnian Muslims can use either but lean to using Latin. As a result, one glance at a uniform patch[[note]]The flags of the three nations are also different; Croats use a different red/white/blue coloring order than Serbs, and the Bosnian government itself used a kind of fleur-de-lis until the Dayton Accords and UN oversight forced the choice of a new flag not rooted in any of the three constituent nations' history[[/note]] or a vehicle (which, in the movie at least, the Serbs seem fond of liberally painting names onto) would have at least distinguished the Bosnian Serbs (or Serb irregular forces).
** Partly justified in that he was actively trying to stop any attempt at rescuing Burnett. After all, he knew about the mass graves, and more importantly, knew that Burnett saw them, and had photographic evidence of them. If Burnett, and more importantly, the photos made it to a tribunal, his head would be in the noose right next to his [[TheDragon Dragon]].

* HilariousInHindsight: The ColdSniper Sasha bears a strong resemblance to the protagonist Niko Bellic from ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoIV''. Both are also participants in the Yugoslav wars and are ethnic Serbs.
** Apparently Rockstar, the developer of the game, wanted Sasha's actor to play Niko, but it didn't work out.

* StrawmanHasAPoint: Admiral Piquet does have a point about American military interventions in the 1990s in that US forces, while useful for the raw power they are capable of projecting, were often too concerned about the potential of casualties to do anything productive [[Irony (though one place American intervention may have been successful is the later (and aforementioned) intervention in Kosovo against Serbia).]]

* StrawmanHasAPoint: Admiral Piquet does have a point about American military interventions in the 1990s in that US forces, while useful for the raw power they are capable of projecting, were often too concerned about the potential of casualties to do anything productive [[Irony(though one place American intervention may have been successful is the later (and aforementioned) intervention in Kosovo against Serbia).]]

* StrawmanHasAPoint: Admiral Piquet does have a point about American military interventions in the 1990s in that US forces, while useful for the raw power they are capable of projecting, were often too concerned about the potential of casualties to do anything productive.

** Richard Roeper made fun of its use of "[[MuggedForDisguise the old switcheroo on the uniform]]".

* ClicheStorm: Creator/RogerEbert criticised the movie for "recylcling two of the biggest cliches of bad war movies. Cliche number one - the immature hot dog showoff turns into a hero when the chips are down. Cliche number two - [[ImperialStormtrooperMarksmanshipAcademy the enemy can fire thousands of rounds of machine gun fire, rifle fire, tank fire and even missiles at the guy and never hit him, but when he fires back, well he never misses]].

* WTHCastingAgency: Owen Wilson, who usually plays the platonic ideal of a laid-back everyman, as a military action hero? This becomes less surprising when one considers that Wilson attended a military junior college, but whether that makes him ''believable'' in the role of an action hero is up to the individual viewer (though for what it's worth, his character isn't an experienced, battle-hardened badass from the get-go, but rather a flight officer [[ActionSurvivor forced into badassery when his plane is shot down]]).

* WTHCastingAgency: Owen Wilson, who usually plays the platonic ideal of a laid-back everyman, as a military action hero? This becomes less surprising when one considers that Wilson attended a military junior college, but whether that makes him ''believable'' in the role of an action hero is up to the individual viewer (though for what it's worth, his character isn't a battle-hardened badass from the get-go, but rather a military tech guy [[ActionSurvivor forced into badassery]]).

* WTHCastingAgency: Owen Wilson, who usually plays the platonic ideal of a laid-back everyman, as a military action hero? This becomes less surprising when one considers that Wilson attended a military junior college, but whether that makes him ''believable'' in the role of an action is up to the individual viewer (though for what it's worth, his character isn't a battle-hardened badass from the get-go, but rather a military tech guy [[ActionSurvivor forced into badassery]]).

* WTHCastingAgency: Owen Wilson, who usually plays the platonic ideal of a laid-back everyman, as a military action hero? This becomes less surprising when one considers that Wilson attended a military junior college, but whether that makes him ''believable'' in the role of a military character is up to the individual viewer (though for what it's worth, his character isn't a battle-hardened badass from the get-go, but rather a technician [[ActionSurvivor forced into badassery]]).