Gut Wrenching and Powerful Testament

Rating: 8/10 (27 January 2007)

I recently watched both Flight 93 and World Trade Center. From the reviews I read, I expected Flight 93 to be the superior of the two but after watching World Trade Center, I came to a far different conclusion.
I respectfully disagree with the commenter who thought that the movie dwelled too heavily on the the two Port Authority officers being trapped in the wreckage. Instead, I thought Stone did a superb job in encapsulating the entire 9-11 experience through the eyes of the two families. I lived through 9-11 and didn't need to see a newsreel of the day. The movie hit the right note by focusing on the emotional effect of the disaster on average families - the scene in the hospital between Maria Bello's character and the mother who lost her son in the Towers was particularly well done.
For someone who lives on Long Island and knew many who were working in Manhattan that day (but fortunately, no one who was in the Towers), it was tough not to become emotional and I there were several parts of the movie that brought me to tears.
All in all, I feel that this was a job well done and should be mandatory viewing by high school students so that they will learn what 9-11 meant to us, a little bit like Schindler's list.