Worth watching (if you can get through it)

Rating: 8/10 (23 April 2007)

Overall I thought the film was very well done. It was a moving piece. Parts of it were hard to watch, in fact. Many of the events on the plane were of course guestimation and speculation, but everything was very plausible and well-presented. Great pains were taken in order to keep the timing of events accurate, and it definitely added to the movie.
One thing about this movie is that there are absolutely no big names. In fact, there were a number of real ATC and military personnel that played their own roles. Normally this would detract from a movie, but in this case, I felt it was appropriate because it kept the focus on the events of the day. It also helped capture the actual reactions of the people on the ground, rather than what the director thought they would do.
The movie showed many moments of confusion and disorder within the various control centers. At times, I felt like throwing something at the screen because of the inept actions of the FAA and others.
The film did not address the various conspiracy theories about the plane being shot down in its final moments, but that is fine with me because it would have detracted greatly from the tense final moments. Overall, the film was tastefully done and kept my attention the entire time.