It Has It's Moments...

Rating: 5/10 (21 February 2007)

Well....not what I expected, to say the least. I expected action, I expected drama, I expected to cry and be moved. I expected to see a film that would touch me, move me, and make me proud to be an American.
This film did none of those things.
It has potential, no doubt about it. In fact, if a great 9/11 movie is ever made, it could easily be one of the best ever made. This film is definitely not a great film. It focused the entire time on two men trapped under the rubble, trying not to "go to sleep" and thereby die. The only other stories it worked on were the reactions of their wives, who seemed quite alright about the whole ordeal. No, the wives performances was not very satisfying at all. Maggie Gyllenhaal touched on what could have been a great performance several times, but it seemed obvious the director didn't like that direction. Never did one of them even break down. They almost got there more than once, but never quite reached it.
That's basically the whole film: It touched on greatness, occasionally delivering a good scene. Yet it never seemed to take that angle of mourning and sadness that was obviously needed. And in the end, the whole film ends up being a lot like the wive's performances- just not very satisfying. Pity.... 5/10 stars is it.
Jay Addison