Behind Enemy Lines II: Axis of Evil

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Behind Enemy Lines: Axis of Evil

Directed by	James Dodson
Produced by	James Dodson, Rana Joy Glickman, Roee Sharon
Written by	James Dodson
Starring	Nicholas Gonzalez Matt Bushell Peter Coyote Bruce McGill Joseph Steven Yang
Music by	Pinar Toprak
Distributed by	20th Century Fox
Release date(s)	October 17, 2006
Running time	97 min.
Language	English
Preceded by	Behind Enemy Lines
Followed by	Behind Enemy Lines III: Columbia
IMDb profile

Behind Enemy Lines II: Axis of Evil is a direct-to-video sequel to 2001's Behind Enemy Lines. It is the second installment in the series. The film went directly to video on October 17, 2006.

1 Plot
2 Cast
3 Critical reception
4 Sequel
5 References
6 External links

[edit] Plot

The story is not linked to the first part of the series. Instead, it is a fictional explanation for the Ryanggang explosion in 2004, in which an unexplained mushroom cloud occurred in North Korea.

After reconnaissance satellites detect a large, three-stage Topol intercontinental ballistic missile carrying a nuclear weapon in North Korea, which can strike anywhere in the continental United States, a fictional United States President Adair T. Manning (Peter Coyote) orders a team of U.S. Navy SEALs to destroy the missile and the launch site. The team is led by Lieutenant Robert James (Nicholas Gonzalez).

The Pentagon aborts the mission after it receives new information, but by the time the abort order is sent, four SEALs, including James, have already parachuted into North Korean territory. When North Korean forces led by Commander Hwang (Joseph Steven Yang) find the SEALs, two of the Navy SEALs are killed in a gun battle, and James and Callaghan are captured and tortured by North Korean troops.

After South Korean special forces rescue James and Callaghan, the US President Manning and the South Korean government send the SEALs and South Korean special forces to destroy the missile site. But after losing radio contact with the SEALs, the President and his top advisers believe that they have been captured again. The President decides to send B-2 stealth bombers to destroy the site, which would start a full-scale war against North Korea. The SEALs and the South Korean special forces destroy the missile silo with a bomb before the bombers reach the missile site, which averts the bombing and prevents a full-scale war from breaking out.

[edit] Cast

Nicholas Gonzalez as Lieutenant Robert James
Matt Bushell as Master Chief Neil T. "Spaz" Callaghan
Peter Coyote as U.S. President Adair T. Manning
Bruce McGill as General Norman T. Vance
April Grace as Secretary of State Ellie Brilliard
Glenn Morshower as Admiral Henry D. Wheeler
Joseph Steven Yang as Commander Hwang
Kenneth Choi as South Korean Ambassador Li Sung Park
Keith David as Scott Boytano

[edit] Critical reception

Reviewer Rochard Cornelius (for efilmcritic) titled his review “Putting the 'Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz' in 'DMZ' ” Cornelius calls the film’s depiction of a handful of South Korean special forces soldiers and a Navy SEAL officer destroying a North Korean nuclear missile silo a “ridiculous bit of action movie cheese.” Cornelius says that the depiction of the South Korean soldiers are “...such empty stereotypes that they never count.” According to Cornelius, the scenes of the US administration making urgent decisions about how to respond to the impending nuclear catastrophe “...never feel attached to the main plot; instead, they look like they were quickly filmed in the two or three days.”^[1]

Cornelius states that the movie is “...padded with an endless array of annoying, trying-too-hard-to-look-cool Tony Scott-ish editing tricks. Freeze frames, slo-mo, the works...[as if the director is] hoping that a flashy presentation will cover a restrictive budget.” Cornelius states that "Everything about “Behind Enemy Lines II” screams direct-to-video action cheapness." He claims that "Gonzalez and Bushell are pretty vacant in their leading roles, [and] the action scenes are loud but lifeless." In all, Cornelius calls the films a "...limp, cheesy B actioner gussied up with a semi-recognizable title."^[2]