I put off seeing this movie. Since I didn’t know all that much about what happened to United 93 and I was eagerly awaiting World Trade Center, I let this one get by me. And then after I saw World Trade Center, I didn't have the heart to stomach another poorly done Hollywood representation of the event. I really wish I had seen this one first. I don't know how true to life the story actually is, but it seems like a possible account of the events. I like the cinematography in this movie its more raw and real then the polish cinematography that went into World Trade Center. The acting is good; they seem like real people caught in a bad event. Overall, I thought this a much, much better-done film than World Trade Center and I enjoyed it (even as I cried) more.

Plot: We all know what happened that day. This movie deals with the airplane side of the story as opposed to World Trade Center which dealt with what happened on the ground. We are given before shots of the day, people getting on the airplanes, stewardesses gossiping as they go to work, pilots chatting. We are shown the control centers and towers and they gear up for a busy day of directing flights, and watching the weather. Then the terror begins, a plane is suspected to be highjacked, American Airlines 11. We see the chain of command react as the threat is identified. We watch them go through disbelief, "we haven't had a highjacked plane since 1990" to what do we do and where is plane going. We see that all the offices that should be working together are not in communication and there are large holes in how the system is supposed to work. The incoming information was not ignored, the people behind the desks were not shown as incompetent, the process by which the information was acquired and sent to the people it needed to get to was lacking. The most telling in this is that the local and national plane control centers and the military presence that is monitoring the situation all have to turn on CNN to find out what is happening to the planes they are tracking. Once it is established that three flights have been highjacked and crashed (two into the trade center and one into the pentagon), the movie concentrates on what actually happened on flight 93. We watch how the people band together to keep that plane from hitting its target. What should draw you to this film is not the story of the event, which you know, but the unfolding of the event and the evolution of the people caught up in it. You can watch the strong will that used to characterize Americans being reborn in this film and that why you should watch it. That day should be remembered, and the passengers on flight 93 should be remembered.

I loved the cinematography in this film. It was very realistic, and they used some great angles. I liked it much better than the big-budget polishedness of World Trade Center. I also like the dialogue in this film. Where it was fake and stilted in World Trade Center, it seems real and solid in United 93. The conversations flow well and seem realistic whether it was passengers chatting about their trips, the command centers trying to figure out what the H**L was going on, or the passengers discussing how to attack the highjackers. It was just a better written than World Trade Center.

I also like the acting. No one was trying to hard to be this great character, everyone just seemed real and natural in their part, from the military personnel, to the control center personnel, to the pilots, stewardesses to the passengers. I also thought three characters stood out: one being Christian Clemenson as Thomas E. Burnett, Jr. this is the man who first finds out what is going on and mobilizes the other passengers. The second being Khalid Abdalla as Ziad Jarrah--he is the highjacker that is the pilot. He seems reluctant to do the highjacking and he is the only one that seems at all remorseful for what is about to happen. And I found that to be very interesting even though it is most likely Hollywood added. It did add some depth to his character. The third character I liked, I can't figure out a name for, but it is the head commander at the head ATC center. He tried to be decisive and actually grounds all flights, which is more then anyone else was doing. He tried to be decisive and get things done. I thought his character was very good as well. Overall, I thought the acting was well done.

I can find no fault with this movie. It is has a better written script, better acting and better cinematography than World Trade Center. It was very well done and everyone should take some time to watch and it and remember, least we forget and it happen again.


Recommended: Yes

Movie Mood: Serious Movie
Viewing Method: Other
Film Completeness: Looked complete to me.
Worst Part of this Film: Nothing