World Trade Center

BACK COVER SYNOPSIS: From three time Academy Award winner Oliver Stone comes this inspiring true story about courage, family and our nation's unyielding spirit. Oscar winner Nicholas Cage and Michael Pena (Crash) star as John McLoughlin and Will Jimeno, two New York City Port Authority policeman who were trapped in the rubble of September 11, 2001. As McLoughlin and Jimeno bond together in a fight for survival, the events of an unimaginable day unfold through the eyes of the two policeman, their loving wives (Mario Bello and Maggie Gyllenhaal), survivors and rescuers througout the city.

FILM REVIEW: There has been much debate as to whether it was too soon to make a film about 9/11, given 'World Trade Centre' comes only five years after that tragic day in US and world history. One of director Oliver Stone's smartest moves in making this film was to not have any sort of political commentary, despite a hint here or there. Nor does he actively re-depict the actual strikes against the towers or their subsequent collapse. He instead focuses on the human story at the heart of the tragedy and it is in this respect that 'World Trade Centre' hits the mark. Unfortunately, the film overstays its welcome by about thirty minutes. After the first forty minutes, the bulk of the film is focused on the two men trapped in the rubble and their respective families, and as such we get a number of flashbacks and memory sequences that build on the characters but really drag the film out. There's a subplot about an ex-marine who fakes his way in to the site in order to help, but that's really not as big a part of the story. As such, despite being based on such an incredible tragedy that has elicited so much emotion, the film ultimately leaves you feeling a little cold and clinical. It conveys the tragedy, but it's diluted and as such it doesn't have the impact that it probably should have.
The film starts with a very good build-up, giving the impression that September 11 was a day just like any other day for these characters. They get up, go to work, business as usual. We are introduced to the main players, most of whom don't end the day alive, and we are introduced to the event itself through the characters - you don't see planes hitting towers, but you hear tremors and shakes as people hear them inside office buildings. You see a shadow of a plane fly across the New York skyline. This is the best way to handle this material - we're all so familiar with the images, but a representation of how the people involved saw it is almost more terrifying.
The most harrowing sequence in the film is when McLoughlin (Cage) and his team start moving toward Tower 1 of the WTC and they are on the concourse, moving towards the Tower. Suddenly, everything begins to shake and then a massive wall of smoke and debris floods in from outside. Stone chooses to slow time down through film technique and its a scary sequence, and if it weren't for McLoughlin making a split second decision to enter the elevator shafts, they would have all been swept away with the carnage.
From this point on however, the film changes entirely. The bulk of the film is set in the rubble with the trapped team, two of which eventually come out in the end. This story is intercut with scenes with their families. I know it's important to fully canvas the tragedy for all of these people, it would have been more effective to shorten the running time down in these sections, particularly when we get memory and flashback sequences of the characters day-dreaming or imagining happier times. The result of all of this is to take the steam out of the story because you get it, and then you want to move on. The performances by and large do well at trying to make up for this but in the end, what could have been a potent, tragic story becomes one that is diluted severely from what it could have been.
Stone does an admirable job with this film, resisting his instincts to say anything political which he could have easily done, especially in light of his previous films. His technical skills are nothing short of brilliant again, particularly with his use of CGI to believably recreate the 9/11 disaster site and the recreation of the smoke, destruction and rubble.
World Trade Centre is ultimately a film that has its heart in the right place but it overstays its welcome and thus dilutes the potency of the story and themes being conveyed.

TECHNICAL REVIEW: The film looks excellent on DVD, with a solid video transfer with crisp, clear and colourful pictures. This is particularly relevant in all the scenes in the dark rubble where the bulk of the pictures are black in nature and they are represented very clearly. The audio plays a monumental part in the transfer, especially in the first act when the towers start coming down, you really feel like you're in the middle of it. An excellent transfer.

EXTRAS REVIEW: There are two fantastic audio commentaries on this DVD which all but make up for the absence of making-of documentaries and featurettes. One is from director Oliver Stone who provides a highly intelligent and thoughtful commentary on the making of the film. The second, and probably the better of the two, is a commentary with the real life survivors from the police who helped that day. Their stories really put the film in to perspective about how terrible an event 9/11 was. There are also a number of subtitles and deleted scenes. A solid extras package for a single disc DVD.

BOTTOM LINE: Rent it.

FILM RATING: 7/10 -- EXTRAS RATING: 7/10 -- OVERALL DVD RATING: 7/10 

Todd Murphy <br />
http://www.allaboutmovies.net