Review of World Trade Center (2006) by Jonathan S — 26 Jun 2013

This movie is a huge mixed bag. It wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be. There's actually a lot of good stuff here: the shots of a typical morning in NYC and then the shots at the end of the movie of streets filled with debris but void of people, empty ferries and subways, and the scene where John's family - lucky enough to have him returned injured but alive - walks past a wall of fliers with missing people posted by families who were not so lucky.

That said, there is a lot that doesn't work in this movie. Nothing particularly awful, but it certainly doesn't help the movie. The acting is mediocre, especially from Cage. A lot of lines that are supposed to be uplifting come of as incredibly cheesy. Many scenes of the families feel like a Hallmark Channel movie, particularly the annoying kids. There's an incredibly awkward scene where John McLoughlin's wife appears in the rubble next to him and tells him to "get off his ass and come home." The music at the beginning tells us what to feel when the score should be paused so the screams and crashes and noises of that day can carry the scene.

I realize that with a story as depressing as this, you need some moments that show courage, resilience, hope, etc. but you don't have to talk down to the audience and treat us like children. I know Oliver Stone wants to honor the police and firefighters who died on that day, but with material as sensitive as this, you have to do it right. I think Paul Greengrass did a better job with "United 93." That movie has all the tension that is lacking here.