An accurate and wonderful portrayal of courage

Rating: 10/10 (11 August 2006)

There were many who worried that Oliver Stone was going to weave a twisted tale about 9/11 with this movie, given their view of some of his past work. I can assure you it is anything but that. It is a fitting tribute to the rescue workers who did their job, and risked everything to save innocent lives. It will remind you of how you felt when 9/11 happened. Personally I think this is a valuable service to all of us, but there will be those who do not wish to be reminded, and they should not watch this movie. I do not recommend it for children, as it viscerally portrays death and destruction, and horrific moments. It is not gratuitous though.
The movie is mainly about two Port Authority officers who go in attempting to rescue people in the first World Trade tower that was hit, and the families of these officers. A group of Port Authority officers join them to go into the building, but they are killed when the tower they have entered collapses. The movie mainly focuses on what the two officers who survive the collapse, and their families, go through emotionally. The two officers are trapped under a mountain of steel and concrete. They re-evaluate their lives in small and large ways. The way that the movie truly captures how most of us felt that day is it shows the miracle of 9/11. The experience brought us closer together than we ever would have thought. Where our hearts were usually closed off, due to the hubbub of daily life, they were opened to each other.
The movie also portrays the good spirit of public servants and citizens who came from across the country to help. It shows police officers from other states, a marine, and a paramedic, who answer their own inner call to duty, coming to the World Trade Center site to help with the clean-up and rescue. It also shows their devotion to family and their willingness to risk it all to save lives. The marine is portrayed as a Christian, and surprisingly Stone does not disparage this, but honors it.
I say bravo to Oliver Stone, Nicholas Cage, and the other actors in this movie. You have done a public service. You have honored and respected the work and the memory of those who risked and in many cases paid the ultimate sacrifice to try to save lives.