World Trade Center

On this somber day I decided to sit down and watch this film, along with United 93, I don't know if there was truly a reason for waiting so long but after all this time it still hurts to watch these events unfold. The detail that Oliver Stone drew out on film is amazing; throughout the whole film it feels as if you are right there beside the first responders to the disaster. With Nicolas Cage and Michael Pena playing the lead characters, we are shown how truly talented these two men are. From the moment they wake up on that fateful day to the rescue that saved their lives we are given a glimpse into the lives of these two men that drive them to survive. There is so much emotionally charged scenes its hard to point out just a few, but with the way that the actors portrayed these real life heroes grabs a hold of your heart and never lets go.On September 11^th two Port Authority Policemen are trapped in the World Trade Center after the towers collapse, and fight to survive till a rescue team can reach them. There are a few aspects to this film, which helps it, stand out from other dramas of its kind, the first ten minutes of the film shows just how mundane and ordinary the day started out for these people, before they became a part of the historic events that took place. The other viewpoint is that of the family's perspective during the crisis, this adds to the emotional level of the film and just pushes it over the edge. With the use of news footage from that day Stone anchors the audience into the moment since most of us have seen that footage at one time or another, but he doesn't overpower you with it the way the news services did that day.
This is a nice accompanying piece to United 93, which came out earlier the same year, together they give us a small insight into what happened that day that we all lived through. The events of 9/11 touched so many in so many ways its impossible to measure, sure there are the cold numbers and facts, but with stories like these about the bravery and heroism that took place that day we can all stand proud and remember that some of our greatest heroes are those that stand beside us each and every day. So if you haven't seen this film it's a must see movie, and see it with the family it will draw you together in ways that you may never have thought possible.