Great Film Cheapened By Its Ending

Rating: 6/10 (3 July 2006)

I must admit when I first heard about this film I feared that it could have been handled so badly and even may have been made a bit too soon after the event. To be honest if it wasn't for my wife I probably wouldn't have even gone to see it.
I was pleasantly surprised at the way the subject matter was handled and the drama was built nicely. With a powerful story that everyone in the cinema knew inside out and some fantastic performances I would recommend this movie to anyone. I found myself thinking about what I was doing on that September day and the sheer mundane normality of ordinary people turning up to board a flight brought home the absolute horror of the atrocity.
Unfortunately I did find myself trying to work out who was an actor compared to who was really present that day but that is just a minor quibble. If there is a complaint about this film it is that it went for the gung ho America will not take this lying down ending with the passengers storming the cockpit. As no one really knows what went on in those last seconds of Flight 93 to try and imagine it for us all was a bit crass for my liking. I believe this would have been a far more powerful piece of drama if the film had ended at the infamous "let's roll" statement and left the rest to our imagination. As a result the film is slightly overlong and I came away feeling a little disappointed. I can understand why the producers thought the ending was a good idea as it would definitely have Middle America standing up and hollering in that way only Americans can! The problem was is that it cheapened the film and that's a real shame.