Better than I expected

Rating: 6/10 (15 January 2007)

After careful consideration (read 24 hours with a bottle of scotch), I'm giving this a six. I would say it's slightly above that, but not quite enough to warrant a 7.
I was really apprehensive at first - I was scared that this would be some self-indulgent diatribe on the suffering of the American people (I apologise to all non-U.S. Americans, but I'm trying to be obvious here).
Instead it turned into a story about a group of Port Authority police persons stuck in the rubble, the angst of their families and the combination of positive and negative emotions that comes together in order to save them.
To be honest with you, 30 minutes into this I was convinced that Cage's character wasn't going to make it out. That would be too saccharine. Wouldn't it now? All powdery and a bit clammy on the tongue...
I see comments here which are highly critical of this movie simply for the fact that it doesn't pay tribute to the diversity of rescue personnel that were caught up in this affair, doesn't account for the less than 300,000 persons that died, doesn't "expose the truth behind 9/11". Do you hear yourself talking? Definitely too soon, but remember - it's just a movie. I remember seeing a telemovie about the 93 attack well before this happened.
I won't engage in a debate here on the merits of what came before or after, although many people have raised them and they are poorly alluded to in the film itself. Suffice to say that one thing I did get from this movie, coming from a position of little sympathy, is an appreciation for the emotions of the families of the victims involved in this event.
I should also add that this is classic Stone direction with lots of use of original footage, shaky cameras, aerial shots, it all comes together.
I'm feeling sufficiently depressed that I'll be putting off the whole flight 93 experience for a while (that movie seems to go by a few different names) - all I can say is don't underrate this movie. It's not the most amazing piece of work you'll ever see, it is self-indulgent in many ways that I wasn't expecting, you will see lots of things you've seen many times before and asked to never see again whether out of boredom, pain or frustration... but you will see another side to the story.
Perhaps one that is more important than the events themselves.