United 93

Rating: M – Contains Violence & Offensive Language.
Duration: 110 mins.
Genre: Drama, Suspense & Thriller.
Actors: Polly Adams, Opal Alladin, Lewis Alsamari, Starla Benford, Gary Commock, Trish Gates, Cheyenne Jackson, J. J. Johnson, Nancy McDoniel.
Director: Paul Greengrass.
Release Date: Available Now.

To be honest, I wasn’t too fused about seeing United 93. I mean it’s a movie based mostly on conjecture. It’s also a movie about an incident that is so well known.

So conjecture and knowing what’s going to happen, what’s the point? It’s not going to have any tension, and it’s probably going to be overly patriotic.

Yawn.

But yawn it wasn’t, far from it. A gritty, edge of your seats human drama and suspense is what it turned out to be.

Paul Greengrass who’s only film of note prior to United 93 was the excellent The Bourne Ultimatum – not the type of movie you’d think would prepare him for United 93 – but rather than ramp up the action and glamorise the story, Greengrass treats the movie with a great deal of respect.

The film starts out following the terrorist from their hotel room to the boarding lounge.

Then we start flicking back and forth between air traffic control and the military, which is sheer brilliance. It’s amazing how much tension and pace Greengrass manages to squeeze out of a few rooms full of people, as they start to realise the scope of what is happening, and the confusion and desperation that follows.

It’s also amazingly emotional.

Then we switch to United 93 as the flight gets airborne and the terrorists get ready to move. The pace and emotion starts to abate at this point, but it’s the only real breather we get in the entire movie.

Once the terrorist do take control, your rest period is over as everything starts to tighten up again as the passengers talk to loved ones on their cell phones and start to discover and piece together what has been going on, and the realisation dawns on then that they are on a suicide flight.

Fear of death, and desperate to have a say in their destiny, the passengers decide to take action, and the rest, as they say, is history.

Relentless and gut wrenching, United 93 is as realistic portrayal as possible, whilst being down to earth. The cinematography is fantastic with a handheld feel it basically puts you right on the flight, amongst the passengers, and helps add to the emotional trauma.

Entertaining seems to be the wrong word for a movie like this, but it’s certainly not a movie that will afflict you with boredom.

One thing I will recommend is that you watch United 93: The Families and the Film, one of the special features. Here we get to see some of the interviews with the families of the passengers of United 93, and see some of the actors meeting family members and talking to them about the characters they are going to portray.

Food for thought:
Is it evil if you’re following what you believe to be right?

Rent or Buy?
Buy it, You’re sure to watch it again at some point.