By Edwin Hopkins
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HUGE

Every American remembers 9/11 like it was yesterday. It will be scorched into our collective memories for all time. That horrific day of infamy not experienced since Pearl Harbor which forever changed our nation was an unquestionable revelation of our vulnerability to international terrorism.

The hijacking of United flight 93 was the most frightening personally because it crashed in Shanksville Pa. My relatives live in Philadelphia and I was thinking worse case scenario- what if this were an all out attack on the U.S. Was Philly another prime target?  I called my mom to see if her and dad were alright. They were and I breathed a sigh of relief.

Taking advantage of September 11th ‘s ordinary day in the life, Barry Ackroyd utilizes brilliant docu-dramatic photography coupled with Greengrass’s rigid script not hesitating to reflect all the daily routines of ticket agents, customs inspectors, pilots, engineers, controllers, flight attendants and passengers who have absolutely no idea what is about to happen. The dullness of the day braces you for the inevitable outcome, but not completely.

Tension, of course, builds steadily as the film unfolds, running the gamut of emotions before the final seconds. It’s literally, a visceral rollercoaster. I felt as frustrated as everyone else in the audience, fuming over the mass confusion of civilian and military authorities who just did not seem to have their act together once they finally realized several planes had really been hijacked. Miscommunications between state and federal authorities supplements the nearly panicky disorder.

Real life people playing themselves and talented unknowns reliving this tragedy minute by minute, moment by heart stopping moment creates an unprecedented genuineness I haven’t experienced since The Passion of the Christ. There are no lackluster performances. This is especially true of United 93’s unsuspecting passengers.

You are actually on the plane with these people, suffering, trying to decide what to do in this terrifying situation. The fear, anxiety and desperation is superbly rendered by all on board. Even Lewis Alsamari, Omar Bedouni, Khalid Abdalla and Jamie Harding who play the maniacal hijackers give such hardcore accounts of their characters, you’d think Greengrass must have had a camera on the original flight five years ago.

Whether or not United 93 should have been made not even 5 years after 9/11, unsurprisingly, has sparked debate. Indeed, many true-to-life tragedies, exceptionally one of United 93’s magnitude have always had ample time to settle in the minds of Americans before they hit the big screen. Notwithstanding, Paul Greengrass who, by the way helmed the popular sequel, The Bourne Supremacy, has created an engaging, lucid work that captures all your senses, confining you to your seat until the heartrending conclusion.

Must See!
by Joe De Matteo

HUGE

Mr. Greengrass uses the camera to keep the tension and pace of the film just right.  Believe me, he could very easily have had us spill out half our water content through our eye sockets, but he didn't.  In fact he kept the sensationalism out of the film and gives us a tempered account of the fateful flight. 

Thank you Paul Greengrass.   I needed to cry for these people once more.

This movie, if nothing else, salutes the human spirit, the American spirit.  Reality is understood, and action replaces in-action.

HUGE!