Superbly Captures A Real-Life Horror Story

Rating: 9/10 (31 January 2007)

Like many, I was skeptical about how the first movie regarding 9-11 would be treated. I expected a typical Hollywood rant with information either distorted or exaggerated looking to "Cash In" on America's biggest terrorist attacks.
This film does none of those things. It is a caring, sensitive, piece of real-life horror that depicts that essence of human suffering and sacrifice. Many scenes are so powerful even when you KNOW what is coming, like a terrible accident that you can do nothing about. But still, the viewer's eyes are transfixed to the screen the whole time.
Regardless of your political affiliation, and how you may feel about the war now, the film never takes any political sides, or preaches to the viewer any kind of political agenda. United 93 is a story about how the entire world changed on that horrible day. The film shows the chaos and madness that seems to demonstrate that horrifyingly, the terrorists on that day were more organized than the military, airports, traffic controllers, or security personal, who were supposed to prevent such a tragedy in the first place.
You will be on the edge of your seat most of the time. While no one knows for sure the exact events of what transpired on United 93, the filmmakers and screenwriters did an excellent research job. It will probably be the closest to "a true account" of what really happened that day. Some things remain unknown. For instance, based on flight data and phone calls from passengers before the crash, they had planned to overwhelm the hijackers by storming the cockpit. (The film takes this approach in a scene that will LEAVE you cheering!) But the Federal Aviation Administration Commission's report says that they think that the terrorists overheard the passengers planning to storm the cockpit, so they decided to crash the plan themselves. I think the former if it happened makes for a better movie.
There are no bells and whistles or large accolades at the end. United 93 hits the ground and the credits role with subtle music. (A poignant and somber ending.) This is a film about trying to understand and come to grips with one of the world's largest tragedies that affected both the United States, and the rest of the world, in ways that are to this day beyond comprehension.
I give United 93 a 9/10 because there are some issues that will never be known and it's impossible to have perfect accuracy when much of what was said on the plane (if not all the planes) is speculation. However, the filmmakers did an incredible job with this speculation. Many people who were actually involved in 9-11 participated in the making of this film, from flight crew who played the role of passengers who worked for United Airlines, to air traffic controllers, who were on duty that day Using real people gives the film even greater depth and meaning, making United 93 more of a documentary than a film. THIS IS A MUST SEE!