[Stephen Orr]

Saw Oliver Stone's latest tonight at a free sneak at our local military theater. Whatever Stone's political leanings, he puts politics completely aside to tell the true story of the 18th and 19th survivors, two Port Authority policemen, to be pulled from the rubble of the World Trade Center in the first 24 hours after the buildings were hit by planes and collapsed. Focus moves between the trapped policemen, the families who anxiously awaited word of their loved ones' fates, and the Marine who eventually finds the two policemen.

This is a powerful film, told as a straightforward story, unlike United 93 (another masterpiece, told docudrama style). Nic Cage spends most of the picture buried under tons of debris, along with Michael Pena as the rookie cop trapped with him. Without being able to move, they must rely on each other to survive. The wives, played by Maria Bello and Maggie Gyllenhaal, are also good as they try to keep their families and their sanity together in the hours after the collapses.

Michael Shannon plays the reserve Marine staff sergeant who dons his uniform and heads to Ground Zero to help because he feels God is leading him there. In fact, this film has a very positive family view, and faith plays a vital part in the survival of the two policemen.

Stone spends a little time reminding us of all of our reactions that day, glued to the TV, watching the footage over and over, and how the world stopped in stunned disbelief of what had happened. I personally was at home that morning, off for two days from my Navy job, and remember turning on the TV just after the first plane hit. Like United 93, World Trade Center reminded me of how I felt that day, and how 911 is something we should never forget.

The film is dedicated to the policemen and firefighters of New York.

[Nathan V]

Just wanted to get this IBTL-

I have also seen the film, at its first public screening in Seattle in June, with Stone in attendance. An interesting, solid, but not major effort from Mr. Stone, devoid of politics and very subdued, in terms of both content and style. It is a good film. Performances are fine. The film's final point is its optimistic view of strangers coming together to help each other in times of crisis, and in this sense, it has a very positive view of humanity. People who pigeonhole Stone based on only a few of his works will be surprised; others more familiar with him won't be. I'm waiting for Stone to make another "large complicated film," the type in which his abilities are best put to use, IMO. Whereas United 93 is a strong, unflinching picture with a narrow focus, WTC seems tailored more for a mass audience. I strongly prefer United 93, for its stark approach and excellent dialogue.

Regards,
Nathan

[Michael Reuben]

This thread is the Official Review Thread for World Trade Center. Please post all HTF member reviews in this thread.

Any other comments, links to other reviews, or discussion items will be deleted from this thread without warning.

If you need to discuss those type of issues, please use the Official Discussion Thread.

M.

[Tino]

A good, solid film. Not as powerful or as moving as United 93, but I doubt any film can match that one regarding 9/11.

My thoughts pretty much echo Nathans.

[TravisR]

I thought this movie was excellent but of course it's very painful to watch. It was done with respect to all the people involved. Nicolas Cage (who I'm not ahuge fan of) and Michael Pena are great in it. As always, Oliver Stone nails it. Everyone involved can be proud of the movie that they've made.

And I'll steal Nathan's comments since he sums it up very well:

Quote:

The film's final point is its optimistic view of strangers coming together to help each other in times of crisis, and in this sense, it has a very positive view of humanity.

I know why people compare United 93 and World Trade Center but I don't think there's any need to do it. They're entirely different movies that use different techniques and focus on different subjects.

[Brad M]

After it's all said and done this movie is about survival. I thought it was well made and really does manage to bring back the feelings I had 5 years ago.

There are a lot of people who do not wish to see this film because they say they have already lived it. To those people I say unless you were in the buildings, you have not seen it like this. The film is told from the police officers point of view. They had no television sets or radios to gather information. All they knew was that one of the towers was on fire and people were trapped. I couldn't help but wonder what thoughts crossed their minds as they lay stuck in the building. They had no idea what kind of Hell was going on outside. While watching this movie I noticed a few people around me crying. The woman next to me totally lost it.

To answer the question from above, there was a time or two that I did notice that Nicolas Cage was on screen. Those moments happen during the flashbacks.

[Patrick Sun]

I thought this was a good film, made to honor those who lost their lives in the attack, as well as those who survived while trying to do their duty, and gave us a view of the uncertainty that the events had on the families in the direct aftermath.

The film features solid performances by the ensemble cast, and Oliver Stone deftly gives the viewer an intimate look into 2 Port Authority policemen's fight to cling to life under the rubble regardless of the odds, while also balancing the families's response to the tragic events that threaten to rob them of their son/father/husband/officer. In the end, the film did move me to tears (as it did others in attendance), and gave me chills in delivering a story of hope, courage, and perserverance in spite of the obstacles from the tragic events on that fateful day.

I give it 3.5 stars, or a grade of B+.

[todd stone]

good movie. Done with taste and shows the courage of two men in dire trouble. Cage does a great job.

[Tim Glover]

Rented this tonight. Good solid movie. Like United 93, films like these are hard for me to rate. Seems like it kind of trivializes the actual events in some way. Regardless, well made and well acted.

I do think, like many here have stated, that United 93 is the better of the 2 films.

WTC was indeed done well and honored those Heroes from that day.