CORPORATE LINE: This is the true story of Will Jimeno and John McLoughlin, two Port Authority police officers who rushed into the burning World Trade Center on 9/11 to help rescue people but became trapped themselves when the tower collapsed. A race against time ensued to free them before their air ran out.
THE REVIEW: Director Oliver Stone doesn’t take his usual approach to a movie—to provoke and invoke. Instead Stone takes a story and tells it straight. This is a story that doesn’t need an angle as we all feel something strong about that day. 9/11 is emotional enough that Stone smartly presents the story of these two police officers and there struggle to move an audience without any other unnecessary narratives.
What happened in New York that day was life or death and changed every American’s life. This was ground zero. Our emotions still linger strongly all these years later. What makes the story of these police officers so poignant is how the saviors need saving. It shows their vulnerability and of course ours. It shows our arrogance. It shows unity. It also shows our ability to come together even when hell breaks loose.
Nicholas Cage and Michael Pena needed to make us believe that their life could end at any moment. Even in the face of death there is a power in their will. A power that makes us believe that if it were us who were trapped under that rubble that they would never, ever give up in their attempt to help us.
FRANKLY: Whether or not World Trade Center is too soon—that question will never be answered. It depends on how you feel personally. Irregardless, World Trade Center is a powerful film. Honestly, it makes one misty eyed to see it.
+ Charlie Craine
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