linny
08-18-2006, 10:23 PM
After only five years, this second major Hollywood offering about 9/11 tells the true story of two men who were trapped and rescued from beneath the rubble.
With an ensemble cast led by Nicolas Cage as John McLoughlin and Michael Pena as Will Jimeno, Director Oliver Stone personalizes 9/11 by focusing mainly on McLoughlin, Pena, and their families. Alternating between scenes of McLoughlin and Pena trapped underneath the rubble and scenes of their families' anguish at the uncertainty of their fate, Stone takes the audience back to that day with all its horrors and triumphs.
World Trade Center is not a perfect movie by any means. The few moments that Stone touches upon the political aspect of 9/11 are completely unnecessary, a few scenes where Jimeno dreams about Christ are very odd, Cage just doesn't quite fit the role of McLoughlin, and the end feels forced.
However, the movie does have a lot to offer. The cinematography is excellent in how real everything feels - from the moment the Twin Towers collapse to the cramped, dirty rubble under which Pena and McLoughlin are trapped, every moment feels like it is actually happening.
The true strength of the movie is the acting from the ensemble cast which includes Cage and Pena, Maria Bello as Donna McLoughlin and Maggie Gyllenhaal as Allison Jimeno. The cast is what fuels this movie and takes the audience to such emotional extremes. Some of the most touching moments of the movie are not from the main actors alone. Perhaps one of the most emotional parts in the movie is a small scene when Bello as Mrs. McLoughlin comforts a broken woman as both wait for news of their loved ones in a hospital room.
Overall, the movie is very well done and any flaws it has are overshadowed by the realism, the ordinary heroism that is displayed. The only real issue with seeing this movie is that for many, it may be too soon to revist the memories and wounds of 9/11. But if you're ready to remember the heroism of that day, this is the movie to see.
With an ensemble cast led by Nicolas Cage as John McLoughlin and Michael Pena as Will Jimeno, Director Oliver Stone personalizes 9/11 by focusing mainly on McLoughlin, Pena, and their families. Alternating between scenes of McLoughlin and Pena trapped underneath the rubble and scenes of their families' anguish at the uncertainty of their fate, Stone takes the audience back to that day with all its horrors and triumphs.
World Trade Center is not a perfect movie by any means. The few moments that Stone touches upon the political aspect of 9/11 are completely unnecessary, a few scenes where Jimeno dreams about Christ are very odd, Cage just doesn't quite fit the role of McLoughlin, and the end feels forced.
However, the movie does have a lot to offer. The cinematography is excellent in how real everything feels - from the moment the Twin Towers collapse to the cramped, dirty rubble under which Pena and McLoughlin are trapped, every moment feels like it is actually happening.
The true strength of the movie is the acting from the ensemble cast which includes Cage and Pena, Maria Bello as Donna McLoughlin and Maggie Gyllenhaal as Allison Jimeno. The cast is what fuels this movie and takes the audience to such emotional extremes. Some of the most touching moments of the movie are not from the main actors alone. Perhaps one of the most emotional parts in the movie is a small scene when Bello as Mrs. McLoughlin comforts a broken woman as both wait for news of their loved ones in a hospital room.
Overall, the movie is very well done and any flaws it has are overshadowed by the realism, the ordinary heroism that is displayed. The only real issue with seeing this movie is that for many, it may be too soon to revist the memories and wounds of 9/11. But if you're ready to remember the heroism of that day, this is the movie to see.