Surprisingly understated. Surpassed expectations

Rating: 9/10 (13 September 2007)

I have to tell you that I really did not intend to see this movie. I have to confess to being numb on the subject of 911 due to the overdose of it in the media over the last 6 years. I was really expecting this to be in the line of "win one for the red and blue" and all that but it surprisingly was not at all. It was the most realistic movie I may have seen. Of course one can roll their eyes at such a statement considering the subject matter, but the acting was really understated which is almost unheard of in these types of flicks. In fact, due to the subject matter, this would have given them a license to go over the top with the melodrama, but they did not.
The director really showed both sides of the story here to an extent with respect to the fact that the terrorists were nervous as well and both sides were praying to their various Gods. You really got the chilling feeling the moment the passengers heard that two planes hit the towers as it probably took them a few minutes to process that information and what exactly it meant. It also really captured the confusion in the air traffic control towers as basically it took time for people to realize what was going on and nobody really knew what to do. What could they have done really? Not much in retrospect.
Anyway, I really can't stand melodramatic movies. What a shock it was that this was the LEAST melodramatic disaster film I have ever seen when it could very, very easily have been the most.
I am burnt out on the media overkill of 911, yet this movie still managed to be perhaps the most intense movie I have ever seen.