World Trade Center (2006)

World Trade Center: Directed by Oliver Stone. With Nicolas Cage, Maria Bello, Connor Paolo, Anthony Piccininni. Two Port Authority police officers become trapped under the rubble of the World Trade Center.

“Itu0026#39;s a little known story from a day we know all too well. u0026quot;World Trade Centeru0026quot; tells the gripping true story of two of the last men pulled out of the rubble of Ground Zero alive.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eNicolas Cage and Michael Pena play Port Authority Police officers. In the filmu0026#39;s heart- pounding opening minutes, we watch the attack unfold through the eyes of these first responders. As the routine morning becomes anything but routine, the officers glimpse news reports (we are thankfully spared any images of the plane striking the towers) and get bits of information from cellphone calls to family members as they race downtown. But whatu0026#39;s most striking is how little the men know about whatu0026#39;s really happening. As the officers prepare to the climb the North Tower, they are unaware the South Tower has even been hit. Communications gear is failing, and there is confusion all around.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThrough impeccably detailed sets and flawless special effects, director Oliver Stone and his film-making team recreate these hectic moments in all-too-realistic detail. Youu0026#39;re right there, on the street, looking up and watching the chaos unfold in 35mm and THX surround sound. If you didnu0026#39;t know any better, youu0026#39;d think Stone had a crew shooting in Lower Manhattan that day. You have to struggle to remind yourself everything youu0026#39;re seeing was recreated on a sound stage on inside a computer.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eScreenwriter Andrea Berloff further enhances the realism with believable dialog. She not only effectively captures the u0026quot;cop talku0026quot; (half the time, thereu0026#39;s so much lingo being bantered back and forth, you donu0026#39;t understand what the heck the characters are saying — as it should be), she also delivers a truth and honesty to the conversations and interactions. The words never feel contrived.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe quality cast does the script justice. Itu0026#39;s remarkable how well Cage, a major movie star, disappears behind the mustache and hunched shoulders of Sgt. John McLoughlin. Pena (last seen as the locksmith in u0026quot;Crashu0026quot;) is instantly likable as Ofc. Jimeno. Their performances are even more noteworthy considering they spend the majority of the movie flat on their backs. They are also well supported by Maria Bello and Magie Gyllenhaal as their respective wives, who spend much of the film enduring an agonizing wait to learn the fate of their husbands.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eStoneu0026#39;s storytelling is also more methodical and straightforward than itu0026#39;s been in recent years. He mercifully ditches the frenetic editing style heu0026#39;s employed in films like Natural Born Killers and Any Given Sunday.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003e***Not Political***u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eWhen one hears that Oliver Stone, director of such politically charged films as JFK and Born on the Fourth Of July, is making a movie about 9/11, your first tendency is to say, u0026quot;uh oh.u0026quot; But this may be the least political movie Stone has ever made, one both red states and blue states can agree on. Itu0026#39;s not about the roots of terror, or whou0026#39;s to blame for what. Itu0026#39;s not about villains. Itu0026#39;s about heroes. Though set during one of Americau0026#39;s darkest hours, it tells a life-affirming story of courage, love and the strength people can summon inside. The movie reminds us how we all felt that day, how we all came together. Some say it is too soon for a movie like this. But as our nation sits so sharply divided, itu0026#39;s not a minute too soon to remember the unity of purpose we all had on 9/11 and ponder whether we can ever get it back.”