Respectfully made, realistically executed, powerfully emotional

Rating: 8/10 (4 September 2006)

Unflinching in it's realism, United 93 comes as close as possible to recreating the real time drama that unfolded on 9/11, using the one failed terrorist plot as a focal point. While we may never know the particulars of that mysterious day, and can quite reasonably argue that perhaps the events unfolded in an entirely different way then what was portrayed, one can certainly not fault the humble and passionate filming of Paul Greengrass, as he relentlessly parlays all of the "facts" as we have come to know them into an amazing piece of pseudo documenting. Painstaking detail is given to the inept bureaucratic formalities that kept the good guys from pursuing the quickest course of just action, starting with the brilliantly plotted introduction of the 1st plane crash via air traffic control. From then on out, the chaos that continued to multiply on that frightful day is offered amazing counterpoint with the quiet, intuitive struggles that went on over Pennsylvania on United 93. While the action is certainly intense, the majority of time on board is spent simply being with these individual characters, but due to the quick edits and frantic nature, not long enough to gain any real connection with. However, the focus on environment rather then individual characters does tend to immerse the viewer into this unprecedented experience that much more effectively. Certain "patriots" who immediately play the exploitation card as a reason to boycott anything creatively done in the name of September 11th, should first at least check out the DVD extra's, which elegantly details the entire flight's families considering, accepting, and eventually embracing the idea of what this particular movie was to be all about. In the climactic throngs of unity, emotional truths massively outweigh whatever grudges anyone could seemingly muster for this must see, as the year's most powerful final scene reminds us in all that is good with humanity, and it's offspring, the arts.