Its Power Is In Its Simplicity

Rating: 8/10 (14 June 2008)

Bearing such a grandiose title, one almost expects a grandiose treatment of the events surrounding the attacks on and collapse of the World Trade Centre on September 11, 2001. Instead, one ends up watching a movie that in many ways is very simple and straightforward, and surprisingly human and personal; a story of survival in the midst of the impossible. On 9/11 Port Authority police officers John McLoughlin and Will Jimeno are among hundreds deployed to the Trade Centre. As they go about their job of trying to evacuate people, the Towers collapse and McLoughlin and Jimeno are trapped deep in the rubble, hurt and struggling to find some way to survive the insane situation they're in - described by Jimeno at one point as like being in hell. In the end, the movie isn't really even about the attempt to rescue them. There's really very little attention focused on the rescue effort. Instead, the movie goes back and forth from McLoughlin and Jimeno to their families, watching the drama unfolding on television, and having no idea whether they're alive or dead or will even ever be found.
This very simple, human focus was probably what this movie needed to make it a success. If you really want a movie dealing with the events of 9/11, you won't like this - or at least you'll be disappointed by it. I tend to be of the opinion, though, that even now - almost seven years after the attack - we're not ready for a completely Hollywood-ized dramatization of 9/11. Human stories are still the way to go. The other significant movie dealing with 9/11, of course, is "United 93." It's a very different movie than "WTC," but with the same personal, human focus, and also based on a true story from 9/11. To compare the two, I'd say "93" was better, but "WTC" is also a worthy treatment of that tragic day. 8/10