United 93 DVD > Reviews > A memorable and powerful film the world must see

Author's product rating:   

Did you enjoy it?	Loved it
Story	Outstanding
Characters / Performances	Good
Special Effects	Unmemorable
How does it compare to similar films?	Not applicable

Advantages:	Feels like you're there, emotional, not Hollywood - exaggerated
Disadvantages:	Feels like you're there .  Hard to watch .

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

==========================Summary===========================

"United 93" is the name of the fourth flight to be hijacked on September 11th, the only one, however, which failed to reach its target thanks to passengers' determination, who bravely fought their way to the cockpit before crashing in a field. Consequently, this crash was the least publicised of the four, and the director Greengrass (who also directed Bourne Supremacy) appropriately put in the spotlight one of the most emotional and heroic event on that fateful day.

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What makes this film outstanding is the way it is done. The movie happens in real-time, as you watch the events unfold exactly how they happened. This movie, thankfully, sticks to the facts. Unlike the name may suggest, not all of the scenes are on the actual plane, but the film also captures the events as through the eyes of an air traffic control man, and a military headquarters employee. The viewer can observe the confusion and chaos that arise everywhere when the first three planes are hijacked. Or the shocking silence at the air traffic control tower when the first plane, which just disappeared off the radar, hits the World Trade Center before their eyes. Even the terrorists' emotions and actions are clearly represented: their nervousness and uncertainty before and during the hijacking.

It was difficult to control my own emotions while watching the film. Perhaps it is the fact that I knew there won't be a happy ending and it was horrifying to see the events unfold. Perhaps it was when many of the passengers phoned home to their families just to say "I love you very much", in knowledge that they will never see their loved ones again. All of this adds up to put the viewer right there on the plane and feel like it is happening to them. This film is perhaps too powerful a reminder of the horrors that went on that day, yet it highlights the bravery of the few who stood up and successfully attempted to save the people on the ground. Just as the plane crashes, the screen goes black and there is silence…this made be want to sit alone for a while in peace, and this will probably happen to you.

It is a pleasant surprise that Hollywood can, once in a while, leave out the special effects, the shallowness and the over-exaggeration to produce an extremely moving account of a true, yet extraordinary story that the whole world should see.