Terrifying and moving account of the day we'll never forget

Rating: 7/10 (14 August 2006)

I didn't want to see this movie. It seemed too self-serious and "important" in its marketing. It made it look like a movie where the men go off and do brave things, and get put in mortal peril, and then they cut away to the wives at home grieving. I had forgotten that this was based on a true story, and when the film had finished, I remembered the news story about it.
So, since it is a true story and reminds you of such before the film starts, you'll find yourself giving leeway to it's sometimes melodramatic moments. There's something in knowing this was based on completely true events that lends the capital "A" acting more license. And that's the triumph of this movie. The acting is, almost entirely, beyond most of its cast. There's moments where only knowing that this actually happened makes it believable. Nicolas Cage is probably at his worst, while this is something of a triumph for Michael Pena. However, you buy into their world so thoroughly, and that is mostly due to the remarkable and terrifying "hell on earth" that falls upon them. Cutting back to the grieving wives is surprisingly poignant, and the film does this often. Maria Bello is particularly compelling, though it may be she had a more interesting role to play than Maggie Gyllenhal.
You'll ask yourself if this movie trivializes the events of 9/11. You'll be tempted to, but you won't, because all of a sudden you'll remember how you felt on that day, and there's a reliving it all over again.
Oliver Stone is famous for his conspiracy theories (or at least he is in the common press.) World Trade Center presents a thoughtful and compelling conspiracy theory all it's own...Common human decency was the undercurrent of 9/11, not insurmountable evil. You remember after the dust settled and the shock wore off, you appreciated your public servant's a lot more. You'll remember why there were wreaths placed by strangers at the NYPD and FDNY. These men exceeded their training and their orders to do something they knew was right. These weren't superheroes, just the embodiment of what lies in each of us, even those of us who are many times selfish and cruel. Stone's theory is that despite all the misery, murder and mayhem of 9/11, common human decency won out. It's a tender reminder from a brutal scar on our common history that we can be as fierce and violent as we can be heroic and kind. Any film that makes you feel that good after you remember how bad you once felt is doing something right.