World Trade Center (DVD, 2006, Full Screen Version)

The events of September 11 left an indelible mark on most Americans, and certainly on those in the New York City area. Yet as fresh as the images seem, it’s easy to forget the actual grit, sacrifice, and uncertainty of that day. Director Oliver Stone captures the essence of 9/11 by focusing on the true story of two Port Authority Police Department officers who were trapped beneath the wreckage of the fallen World Trade Center. Veteran officer Sergeant John McLoughlin (Nicholas Cage) and his team, including rookie Will Jimeno (Michael Pena) are gathering equipment to enter the burning Twin Towers when the concourse comes crashing down around them. Twenty feet below the surface, pinned by debris and unable to reach anyone by radio, the officers must rely on their own will--and on each other--to survive. Above ground, their families watch the towers fall, uncertain whether or not McLoughlin and Jimeno are there, since they are normally assigned to the Port Authority Bus Terminal. Like so many that day, Donna McLoughlin (Maria Bello) and Allison Jimeno (Maggie Gyllenhaal) wait for news at home surrounded by their families, fearing the worst and praying for the best. Stone’s film depicts the horror and heartbreak of the victims, survivors, and their families with an understated, subtle touch. From the ash and dust covering everyone and everything to the dazed expressions of the workers leaving the towers to the steaming twisted metal remains of the World Trade Center, attention to detail is exceedingly realistic. Rather than being political or sensationalistic, this is a film about everyday heroes--men and women doing their best in the face of an unspeakable event. It may be just one story of many from September 11, but it represents the efforts, emotions, and reactions of so many on that fateful day.

Never exactly a timid sort of filmmaker, even Oliver Stone must have felt like he was walking into a no-win situation in making World Trade Center. Coming off the critical and commercial drubbing of his (underrated, as far as I'm concerned) historical epic Alexander, the cantankerous director wasn't exactly in Hollywood's good graces, and attaching his name to this particular project seemed like a move designed to upset just about everyone. The event itself still a raw, open wound in the American consciousness, putting the notoriously heavy-handed Lefty in charge of a movie about 9/11 certainly raised the hackles of the 50% of the public on the other side of the political spectrum. On the other hand, the film's trailers were off-putting for even Stone's own fans, looking distinctly like he'd sold out his values to play nice with Hollywood, churning out a feel-good "triumph of the human spirit" glorified TV Movie of the Week. However, the finished product turned out to be not quite what anyone expected of it. The movie didn't win over everyone, but that it could be released to favorable reviews and respectable box office business surprised many, and stands as a testament to the director's talent.
Recounting the true story of officers John McLoughlin and Will Jimeno, the film stars Nicolas Cage and Michael Peña as two NYC Transit Authority cops who, on that fateful morning in 2001, walked into the World Trade Center to help evacuate the building and were almost instantly trapped under debris from the falling towers. Neither of them quite understanding the enormity of what had happened (they both assumed that only the shopping concourse had collapsed), the two men remained crushed and unable to move for a full day before rescuers eventually discovered them, two of only a small handful of survivors to be pulled from the wreckage. In the meantime, we also witness the agony of their families waiting for news and expecting the worst.

The film is a restrained, even-handed reenactment of the single most important event of most of our lifetimes. It's emotional without being maudlin, and respectful without turning sanctimonious. Although the director depicts the bravery of the rescue workers on that day, he doesn't overplay it. These men were heroes simply for having the courage to walk into the building, but never actually had the chance to save anyone. They were trapped before they could even get off the ground floor. Stone also resists the temptation to force any great political messages, focusing instead on capturing that specific moment in time when all of America awoke to the realization that their world had just instantly, starkly changed, without anyone comprehending how or why it had happened.

As a movie, World Trade Center really could have been a travesty, dishonoring the memories of those who died by exploiting their losses into a preachy diatribe for the director's political views. Fortunately, that never happens. Nor does it go the opposite route, selling out a tragedy for the sake of shallow Hollywood melodrama (witness Pearl Harbor for example). Is it a masterpiece, or the definitive telling of the 9/11 story? Probably not, but World Trade Center is a fine, worthy drama and probably the best movie that could be made at this time about that day the world will never forget.

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Being based on the horrific events of September 11, I could not miss this movie. Nicolas Cage and Michael Pena are perfectly cast and, as alway, present outstanding performances. The happenings move at a fast pace from start to finish as the story grips one's emotions while we are taken from the start of an ordinary day for two New York Port Authority Policemen and proceeded through the horrific events effecting them and all of America. The heart-wrenching happenings brought me to tears many times through the movie as it viewed the day through the eyes of the trapped men, their families, coworkers, and the Nation. I left this movie emotionally moved, with a strong personal conviction that the World Trade Center should be rebuilt at Ground Zero as a living memorial and tribute to all lost this fateful day, for a beacon to the world expressing the goodwill and courageous determination of the American spirit.

September 11, 2001, will forever be burned into the minds and heart of American; but Oliver Stone has created a movie that resurfaces the suppressed emotions that were felt as each survivor was pulled from the rubble of the World Trade Center. This movie does an excellent job of evoking the fear, sadness, frustration and anger that was felt around the world that day as the lives of thousdands, from 87 countries, were taking in the terrorist attacks on the U.S.

This movie evokes tears within the first five minutes. There is no slow lead-up, the movie jumps right into the first terrifying events of that day. And from that point, the movie remains fast paced. I often found myself sitting just as I had that very day, with my hands clasped in front me, in a prayer like position, with tears streaming down my face. And unlike many other emotion-evoking movies, I couldn't not stop crying once the movie ended...because unlike other movies, this was real; all too real.

World Trade Center is a MUST SEE drama. No matter your political stand, it is a movie you will enjoy because it is something that all of us American suffered through. Oliver Stone took the politics out and focused only on the heroic tales that came from that day.

It's a movie that you not only want to see, but own!

September 11, 2001 is a date that no American will ever forget! It was a day when the entire nation, and the world for that matter, had their prayers and hopes for survival going out to the people who were in the Twin Towers. It showed the courage of the NYPD, military, etc. that answered the call for help when our country needed them most.
The reality of this film had me crying and sitting at the edge of my seat praying for John and Will to be found alive. Watching the way the families of the port authority policemen and the heart wrenching times they went through waiting to see if their loved ones were alive or dead tore my heart out.
I don't think there is anyone who doesn't remember that day when America was attacked in 3 different states, all within a matter of minutes.
It is a must see for all. Have the box of tissues ready at the side of you when you watch it though, you will need it.
Your heart will be ripped out of your chest when you see the events that happened that day depicted in this movie.