A fascinating reconstruction of the day our world changed

Rating: 10/10 (11 June 2006)

I have never been affected so much by a movie before this, Paul Greengrass has excelled himself in this powerful gut-wrenching reconstruction of the events of that fateful September day. I have read a letter to The Times (of London) from a Californian lady that it is in poor taste, I wonder if she has actually seen this yet, as I believe it has been made in the best possible taste. It is important to see the events in real time and to understand that nobody knew the full story of what was actually happening. Greengrass shows us the chaos on the ground, as one by one the four planes headed down their fated routes. Showing us a military, crippled by overcrowded skies, a lack of defined Rules of Engagement, fighter jets with no means of engaging the planes, and an inability to get hold of the President to get the order to shoot down any more hijacked flights. However the picture reminds us that we must remember that this was an entirely unforeseen situation to all on that day. The most harrowing scenes were on the plane itself, as the passengers realised that they were on a doomed flight, the valiant fight back is presented as it should have been, as the passengers battling to survive, to be able to see and hold loved ones again. All through the film (and especially in the last scenes) I found myself rooting for a different outcome (as many other subscribers to this site have done). The use of relative unknowns to portray the passengers and the casting of many of the actual ground staff is inspired, as it compels the viewer to concentrate on the events themselves. Finally, as someone who was in the air myself at the moment the attacks happened (I was on a Zurich to Douala (in Cameroon) flight at the time) I constantly referred back to what I was doing when this happened, watching the passengers board the planes, order food, relax with a book, just as I had done; except I was lucky to land safely. Seeing this movie makes me realise how fortunate I am.