by Burnsy

Created on: January 20, 2009

Were these average people unwittingly transformed into heroes once they realized what their hijackers intended to do ? We'll never know for sure .. all we do know is that the passengers and crew of United flight 93 were indeed unfortunate victims of an insane and cowardly act on Sept. 11th, 2001.

We're all familiar with the horrific events of that day, tragedy that touched all of us and would forever be burned into the collective conciousness of a nation and the entire world. It was also inevitable that Hollywood would one day slither in and wreak their own brand of injustice on the memory of those events, cashing in (ka-ching) as it so often does with overwrought melodrama masquerading as introspective and thought provoking protrayals of real human stories.

Fact is, there could probably be a couple dozen movies churned out about 9/11 amidst all the chaos that unfolded that day, and the prospect of this makes one cringe considering Hollyweird's track record of late.

That's why it was such a grand and satisfying relief to be drawn into a cinematic experience like that of United 93, released in theaters April 28th, 2006. Perhaps not unexpectedly it was met with much trepidation and even anger from many who thought it was too soon to revisit something so painful for many to bear, in particular those directly affected by it (can you say Karla the Movie ..? but thank god for Paul Greengrass.

This British writer/director whose movie credits consisted mostly of documentry style film-making up until "The Bourne Supremacy", has done something rarely seen in mainstream movies. He has managed to capture what it would have been like to actually witness events as they happened that day had a documentary team been present in each location, switching back and forth between the National Air Traffic Control center, the U.S. Military's command center, and of course Flight 93 ... it even feels as though you are actually witnessing the all too familiar footage of the airplanes flying into the World Trade Center towers.

It's riveting because you never get the sense that you're watching actors, especially since the people here are all unrecognizable, and gone too are the usual hollywood gimmicks played upon to wring sentimentality out of each carefully staged scene (cue the music ..). Instead, the suspense is masterfully paced as it builds like a gradual ascent to the top of a roller coaster, because even though you know what's coming, the heart pounding anticipation is something you're completely at the mercy of, whether you like it or not.

In no way should this movie be labeled as exploitative or a shallow attempt to capitalize on human tragedy, because what this film has actually done is bring great honour to those for whom it is a tribute to. They, like so many others that day, were heroic in the face of impending doom, and this protrayal does great justice to their memory.

We can only hope that any other depictions of 9/11 will strive to do the same, but at least, thankfully, United 93 was the first to raise the bar and set a standard for all who follow.

Learn more about this author, Burnsy.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.