Disgraces the heroes of 9/11

Rating: 4/10 (10 August 2007)

I used to live in NYC. Not Manhattan, but Staten Island, one of the five boroughs of NYC. Being only 8 years old, the events of 9/11 left me trying to come up with a movie (thank God I was only 8) about my experience of 9/11. I'm sure many Hollywood directors immediately came up with the idea of putting together a 9/11 to make a large profit. Oliver Stone was obviously one of those people, and he did it. But unfortunately, he didn't do it right.
The first 15 minutes, I'll let you know, are fantastic. They beautifully detail the men arriving at the WTC. One of the officers even sees a man falling out of the building. So they head in. And once they do, the movie falls apart like leaves.
The guys walk through the Twin Towers (yes, walk), making jokes as if nothing has happened. Blood is all around them yet they walk through as if they have no clear mission. Only when the towers collapse do they realize a building getting hit by a massive plane with so many dead is actually serious, but it's too late for them. The officers are crushed beneath the rubble.
Their families watch in horror as the buildings fall atop their loved ones. Of course, both families are annoying and one of them has a bratty, spoiled child yelling at his mother. He claims she doesn't care about her husband because she refuses to drive up to the wasteland of Ground Zero, search through many stories of rubble and find her husband. The kid makes me want to assassinate Oliver Stone for making that child say such rubbish.
For the longest time, two of the surviving officers, Nicholas Cage and a Hispanic guy that I've never heard of talk, giving inevitable character development. Nicholas' Cage performance is kind of a bore but he still has his moments. The other officer is excellent; he is the lone highlight of the movie.
Eventually, the corniest cornball of military cornballs decides to help search through the rubble, finally shedding light on the two buried officers. It is really painful watching this guy, it's like watching a Power Ranger in 9/11.
The only positive note after those first 15 minutes and the Hispanic officer is the lines "He's coughing up rocks", which shows that the movie at least has sense of realism. But all in all, these things can't save this awful portrayal of the events of 9/11.
4.7/10= You'd be better off without it