Movie Review: United 93

SooToday Staff Pick MOVIE REVIEW This week: UNITED 93 September 11, 2001. Four planes were hijacked. Three of them reached their target. This is the story of the fourth.

SooToday
Staff Pick
MOVIE REVIEW

This week:

UNITED 93

September 11, 2001.

Four planes were hijacked.

Three of them reached their target.

This is the story of the fourth.

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REVIEW IN 5 WORDS OR LESS
United. 93. Holds. Nothing.Back.
SOOTODAY SUN MOVIE RATINGS
PLOT- Powerful subject matter made for a very intense movie! Wow.
There was no fiction here however, as film maker Paul Greengrass stuck closely to the factual events of the day. The real-time concept was fascinating, it showed in-depth how the events unfolded, minute by agonizing minute. Unexpectadely I also gained some new insight into how such a horrible tragedy could occur in a high security environment.

CAST- No big name stars at all, but many fantastic performances. There were no cartoonish supervillains or heros in this film, but rather a presentation of real people brought together in extraordinary circumstances.

The unknown cast was so convincing it stirred up strong emotions of the true terror those strangers had to deal with.. Then to see such bravery of the passengers to mount an attack against armed terrorists who had already killed fellow passengers was incredible and it made for very intense scenes in the movie.

FEAR FACTOR- - What could be scarier than these cold acts on humanity? Being on the plane when it happens!! This film gives some real insights into what it would have been like to be on one of those ill-fated flights. The movie also forces us to ask the question, “What would I have done?”

A caution to the weak stomached here however, the film makers pulled no punches in showing the violence that occurred and at times it is very harsh. The violence is not over sensationalized however and is needed to tell the story.

TEAR FACTOR- Anytime there is such a powerful event occurring in our lifetime it's sure to stir up some personal emotions. Especially when viewing a film which re-creates the events in such a stunning manner. It is sure to make everyone remember exactly where they were when it happened.

OVERALL MOVIE GOODNESS-Great film! Some scenes are so powerful to see on the big screen...the utter awe and disbelief of the military commanders was palpable as a dead silence fell over various control rooms while they all watched the second plane crash into the World Trade Centre building.

At first I found the shaky camera work and many jumping single camera shots a little hard to watch. But as it progressed I saw the reason behind it, it was a frantic day and you could feel the panic. Overall the real-time concept, great performances and an incredibly emotionally powerful subject matter makes this one a must see!