A soldier's review of a disgrace to those lost.

Rating: 2/10 (23 May 2006)

First off let me tell you a bit about who I am. I was the film critic and entertainment editor for my school's paper, a soldier who has been in the Army for almost nine years now, and I carry two degrees including a B.A. degree in Communications from Penn State University. On September 11th 2001 I had just started my contract with The PA Army National Guard and within a half an hour of the second plane crashing I called both my new unit and my old unit and asked to be put back on active duty immediately. Due to contract obligations, on an Army Guard contract you must fulfill at least the first year, I was unable to go back active. Needless to say 9/11 means a lot to me. The people who died are personal heroes along with those who serve/served our country in all ways.
That being said this movie is utter garbage. In no way shape or form does it honor the memories of those who died that day. So why do people feel so heartfelt about this film then? CNN! The film relies heavily on replaying, over and over, the actual footage from CNN from that day. You would think the film makers could have come up with a better approach than to draw emotion from something that people are already scarred from. I cried, but I knew why I was crying, watching the footage again brought back so many painful memories. The film overreaches for a documentary style that it misses completely by making sure each and every shot is completely hand-held. This adds up to motion sickness and a film trying to be overly stylized. Although it was not an action film, the camera movement suggested otherwise. I'd like to personally smack the idiot that entrusted the director of The Bourne Supremacy with something of this nature. The acting, if you can call it that, is sub-par, and in no way was handled the way it should have been for a film of such importance. The script also neglects some key points from that day, one example is no mention of where our president was. Do your homework on this, you'll be offended as to what our leader found more important. This is nothing more than a snuff film. You will become emotional, but only because they overuse all of the footage of the actual events over and over. Avoid this film at all costs and take a trip to where the towers once stood instead. It is a much better way to remember those that we have lost.