World Trade Center

Starring: Nicholas Cage, Michael Pena, Maria Bello, Jay Hernandez, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Donna Murphy, Nicky Katt, Stephen Dorff, Frank Whaley
Directed by: Oliver Stone
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Drama
2006

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: Two firefighters (Nicholas Cage, Michael Pena) are trapped in the rubble of the World Trade Center and fight for to survive.

Review:

Tim: Only five years after September 11th, Oliver Stone brought this tale of heroic firefighters in the twin towers when they collapsed that day. The scenes of them trapped in the rubble are emotional, but even they can't compare to the scenes of their families waiting, anxious and terrified, afraid that they will never see their loved ones again. Stone does an outstanding job of jumping back and forth between ground zero and the families, and this amounts to an emotional punch.

Nicholas Cage is good in his role, although once he's in the rubble, he doesn't have much to do. The real star is Michael Pena, who is outstanding throughout the film. Maria Bello gives a good performance as Cage's wife. Maggie Gyllenhaal isn't bad, and she has a few pretty dramatic scenes. The rest of the supporting cast is fairly strong. The cast actually works really well throughout the movie.

Some of the scenes are pretty hard to watch, especially watching the towers come down. The scenes showing the destroyed towers are pretty difficult to watch, too. Stone does a great job of capturing these moments.

World Trade Center is void of any conspiracy theories of commentary on the attacks. Stone just tells a straightforward story of the bravery and resolve of NYC cops on that fateful day. This is a good movie, but can't compare on any level with Paul Greengrass' amazing United 93. Even still, this is a timely, important film, that is well acted, and you should really enjoy it. Stone has made a good but not great movie.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 7.5



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: United 93, Ladder 49, Windtalkers