tybrands-1 Many good critical points have already been made about this film, but I'll just add that some historical events are better portrayed through documentaries and viewing real time news footage other than a Hollywood script. This movie is an example of that.

Amy Edwards As we celebrate today the 14th anniversary of this horrible tragedy, I decided to watch World Trade Center which recall the real stories of John McLaughlin and William Jimeno, two Port Authority police officers caught in the middle of the disaster and survived it after several hours stuck in the rumbles.This movie is really moving and make us proud to be American. Just like this US Marine who decided to fly from Connecticut to help for the search of survivors or this ex paramedic who came to rescue Will and finally save his life.This was an awful day but we saw the best of us coming through getting together as a Nation to rise up from the chaos.Because this is what this movie is about. It's about not giving up, fight for the people we cherish the most despite the horrific situation we have to face. It's simply about life. There are other movies about 9/11 including Flight 93 to make us remember about the awesome bravery of all those people who sacrificed their life to save others. World Trade Center is for all the Heroes from law enforcement and NYFD who went there to rescue people and for some of them lost their life in the process.So to all, thank you for all you did for your sacrifice. This movie is for you. God bless you.

Prismark10 On September 11th Port Authority police officers John McLoughlin and Will Jimeno are sent to the WTC when the first plane crashes. As they try to evacuate people, the Towers collapse and McLoughlin and Jimeno are trapped in the debris whilst their fellow officers are killed instantly or die soon after.I expected World Trade Center to be a rescue film as heroic policemen or more accurately Nicolas Cage goes and try to rescue people from the rubble. Not that they themselves are trapped in the rubble with most of the film taking place in the dark as the rest of the film deals in emotional turmoil of their families cross cutting with the trapped policemen in peril with salvation arriving in the form of a religious, zany and rather on the edge Marine who speaks in slogans. We are told at the end of the film that the marine later did two tours of duty in Iraq (a country which by the way had nothing to do with 9/11 but I am sure the way the character is presented in this film gleefully took vengeance on the Iraqi people!)The films is based on a true story and not a tale I knew about as I came to this film with little knowledge of the plot. Oliver Stone is more restrained in his directing style (keep the camera moving is his motto!) and the film does present challenges for Stone.This ranges from his left wing views that is tempered here, to being respectful to the 9/11 events and this true story of the rescue but also the technical challenge of re-enacting the disaster. Obviously they have created a CGI Twin Towers in the establishing shots of New York and then used archive footage of the aftermath of the incident and the Towers with the plot of the film although not successfully integrated.The film conveys the confusion that occurred on that day but pacing is a problem especially when the police team are literally walking to the disaster area and of course when they are later trapped it is then just two guys talking to keep each other going which of course makes the story drag but its also devoid of tension.

Bene Cumb Of course, the topic is difficult, painful and most of viewers remember this or can revive the live events via Youtube or similar channels... But female characters (performed by Maggie Gyllenhaal and Maria Bello) are over-dramatized; families and friends of those who work within rescue, military, and police should be - and usually are - always prepared for the worst as those jobs are dangerous everywhere. And the women having children with them must be strong and realistic, not panicking around and letting off steam on relatives.Nicholas Cage could have obtained more screen time, so the real stars for me are 2 Michaels: Pena and Shannon (though the part of the latter is relatively small).Pre-rescue scenes under ground are too long, dull and hard to watch due to darkness. Tensions are not highly maintained throughout the over 2 hours... As a whole, the movie is too lengthy - not surprisingly, Mr Stone is known for long and epic works - but still I think that World Trade Center is one of the weakest movies Stone has directed.