World Trade Center

last updated 8 January 2015

Few people suspected that controversial filmmaker Oliver Stone's World Trade Center would be anything other than 'œa shrill screed,' said Gene Seymour in Newsday. Rapid bloggers were so alarmed at the prospect of Stone directing a movie about the September 2001 terrorist attacks that they engaged in 'œmore conspiracy theorizing than even Stone bothered to indulge in in JFK.' But the film itself silences those critics. World Trade Center is 'œin no way a screed.' Andrea Berloff's script focuses on two real-life Port Authority policemen, John McLoughlin and Will Jimeno, following them as they leave their homes for what begins as a tranquil late-summer day. The buildup from 'œmundane to the unimaginable contains some of Stone's most evocative and searing filmmaking.' When the planes hit the twin towers, McLoughlin, Jimeno, and a busload of other officers rush to the scene, said Brian Lowry in Daily Variety. They're preparing to ascend the north tower when it comes crashing down. Only Jimeno and McLoughlin survive, but they are buried under rubble for 24 hours. The film stagnates a bit as Stone flashes back and forth from the trapped officers to their families, waiting above ground, but the climax is well crafted. How delightful to see 'œHollywood technology mobilized to make a worthwhile point,' said Richard Schickel in Time. Even in the midst of unbelievable chaos, 'œhuman beings are capable of simple yet astonishing courage and altruism.'

Rating: PG-13