This is a hard film to review.

Rating: 8/10 (2 May 2006)

Before seeing United 93, I had many doubts. Natural questions arise when discussing the first Hollywood recreation of 9/11.
Should this have been made? What can be taken from it? Will it just be an offensive or heartless manipulation of a real tragedy? There is little doubt that simply as a film, United 93 is well made. It is expertly paced, it is involving and it captures the chaos of that Tuesday morning.
Director Paul Greengrass uses mainly hand-held cameras, giving a similar "you are there" feel as his last film, the hit sequel The Bourne Supremacy. Random bouncing around is toned down a bit, though, so if you got sea-sick during Bourne you can rest a little easier here.
Most of the running time is spent either on flight 93, which was the fourth plane that crashed in Pennsylvania, or around various air control or military rooms. Nothing is shown from Ground Zero.
Greengrass walks a very tight rope, managing not to become exploitive while also not falling into extreme political correctness.
His film is brutal at points, but never gratuitous. The way the reactions of everyone in the film are portrayed helps to humanize them, since we all had similar responses on September 11th.
Even if a vivid back-story is not presented for each person, little distance is felt. Sometimes it is possible to relate through circumstance, and the fact that there are no marquee name stars helps the actors become their characters. Some of the officials in the control rooms actually play themselves, too.
This gives an authenticity to the film that is needed, especially since it comes so soon after the attacks.
Of course, following Fahrenheit 9/11 anything that remotely touches on controversial or political ideas is considered one-sided propaganda. Conspiracy theory nuts especially have used this to bring down United 93 and the people behind it.
However, any film or art form cannot truly be neutral, and this is a good thing. It is why  as filmgoers  we should use our own intelligence and rationality, never only taking what we see on screen as gospel. Art should make us question rather than blindly accept.
With this said, here is a film that is constructed with passion and care, attempting to recreate an experience rather than further an agenda.
The portrayal of the terrorists is perhaps the hardest challenge. Their evil is not overemphasized. The film opens with them praying, and it gives a glimpse into their fanatical religious beliefs that lead them to believe murdering thousands of Americans is a solution for anything.
This makes the tragedy all the more palatable, since we are not watching inhuman monstrosities rampaging, but rather people doing horrible things to other people.
This inherent tragedy helps to make the heroism at the end seem true, rather than forced and sentimental. United 93 shows, without preaching, the way people can bind together to kill each other, and also bind together to do the opposite.
Still, not everything about United 93 works.
One scene involving a passenger who wants to acquiesce to all the terrorists' commands is overdone, and it feels like a fake Hollywood invention.
The amount of text after the harrowing end  which eerily reveals death as well as cinema can  is somewhat distancing. It would have been better and more effective if there wasn't an immediate bombardment of historical facts we already know.
In the end, United 93's greatest strength is its greatest weakness. The fact that it has no political ambitions or fiery declarations lets the emotion of what it shows seem fresh, real, and genuine.
The confusion, fear, and unification that came from these attacks are perfectly captured, although little is said that is groundbreaking or philosophically revolutionary.
"Why" is not as important as "what." United 93 is ultimately a reminder.
While remembering an event that happened less than five years ago might seem superfluous, this is not so much a reminder of the physical, actual event which is impossible to forget, but of the emotions that arose that day and what was created from these emotions.
9/11 has become a punch line for politicians, the memories we all carry abused and torn apart by vehement partisan anger.
The title might seem cheesy but it signifies the central theme that runs throughout this tragic but heroic tale.
For all that was destroyed in the attacks, something was gained. America found a new connection, a connection that went beyond conspiracy theories or liberal/conservative politics.
The fact that United 93 captures this connection at all is proof that, despite any flaws, it is not too soon for this film, and that its greatest message is not delivered in a long-winded monologue but discovered in the emotions simmering right until the end.
Critic's Conclusion: Not necessarily an easy film to sit through, United 93 comes at the right time. Unlikely to find a large audience now, those willing to give it a chance might be surprised at the emotions it carefully exposes.