Powerful and realistic, agonizing tribute

Rating: 10/10 (30 April 2006)

This movie is not only a tribute to the passengers aboard United Airlines Flight 93, but also to the people who are charged with Air Traffic Control and defense of the United States. It shows in brutal detail how unprepared our "defense systems" and "liasons" were to maintain communication and confirm accuracy of information in a time of crisis.
I was touched as much, if not more, by the people who came back and portrayed themselves in the Northeast Air Defense Sector (NEADS) as by the actors who portrayed the passengers aboard the doomed plane. Here is true patriotism: the willingness to remember the mistakes of the past and to admit them in public so that change for the better is possible. These people showed us the chaos that they endured as they tried to follow their training and protocol and yet failed to get cooperation or permissions from their superior officers or counterparts at other agencies.
I am glad that Mr. Greengrass decided to make the movie in real time for the events that occurred aboard United 93. It shows how quick and decisive action was taken even in the midst of chaos and crisis. No matter how much artistic license was taken, the end result was the same. The hijackers did not make their mark. We had a small victory that day.
10/10