Review 278: United 93

United 93 is sad, disturbing but really touching drama film and a moving tribute to those who died in 9/11.

The plot is simple, it chronicles the events on September 11 2001 and the experiences of the passengers and crew, their families on the ground and the flight controllers who watched in dawning horror as United Flight 93 became the fourth hijacked plane on the day of the worst terrorist attacks on American soil.

The plot is very predictable but thats part of the tragedy. You watch in amazement and horror as the events of 9/11 unfold and it's one of those films where it's about how they deal with the situation. In terms of how they dealt with the situation, the American Government didn't deal 9/11, it was chaotic, no saw it coming and the army deliberately stood down. 9/11 was kind of the end of the innocence for the whole world and air travel from thereafter was a complete nightmare. The hunt for Osama Bin Lardin began and the world became a much more cynical, dangerous and scary place, full of suspicion. Also loads of innocent lives were lost in 9/11, ordinary people who were just travelling were caught up in this massacre and were killed in the plane crashes and I think this film tributes them in the most touching and disturbing way a film could.

As for the characters themselves you don't get a chance to know them, however this is the opposite of a problem, it's because they represented as a group and from that you get a sense of teamwork and group bravery. A group of people who really gave their lives to stop those terrorists and that another reason apart from just simply dying on that day.

Another thing thats amazing about this film is that it's told in real time which makes the films narrative very tight and adds to the tension and it adds a much more realistic and historically accurate atmosphere.

The is also great in showing how brutal the terrorists were that day. The terrorists were...dilusional. They actually were fanatical. They thought they were doing what God wanted them to do, which wasn't the case. Once they set their plan into action. They were unscrupulous. They attacked the passengers, murdered the crew, took control of the plane and shouted at the hostages. You can only imagine how frightening it was on the very plane, on that very day.

Writer/director Paul Greengrass' direction is magnificent, the cinematography is brilliant, the effects are brilliant (you can tell they're doing a lot of the action for real), the score by John Powell is suspenseful, powerful and emotional, the tension is gripping, the production design is excellent (the majority of the film is set on a plane), the costumes are beautiful, the make up is rich, fight scenes are expertly staged, well choreographed and really intense and the ending was heartwrenching. Also the opening four minutes of so of this film give you a fantastic idea of how ordinary it was earlier that day: Things were running smoothly at Air traffic control and people were getting on their planes. 

The acting is superb, the whole cast is virtually unknown. As I said before, there wasn't a central focus and all the actors delivered an incredibly moving performance. Special praise goes to the actors who played the terrorists who totally brutal and completely convincing.

United 93 is an incredible, heartbreaking film and overall is a wonderful tribute to all of those people who died in 9/11, 5/5.

The Anonymous Critic.