'World Trade Center': 2 Scoops

movie review, portions from Slate magazine

For those of your who were expecting to see the story of 9/11, you will be surprised to discover that this film closely follows the lives of two Port Authority police officers and their families and not the disaster as a whole. Nicolas Cage and Michael Pena portay officers John McLoughlin and Will Jimeno, repectively, who were first responders to the World Trade Center after the attacks.
There are many difficult scenes to watch, but you won't see the planes as they hit the buildings. I think we have all seen this too many times anyway. Many of the people portrayed in the film, particularly Jimeno and McLoughlin's families, were involved in with the production of the film.

Many people have said that this film was made and released "too early." I must admit, when I first read of its production (post from Jan 24: http://channel248.blogspot.com/2006/01/two-911-movies-to-be-released-this.html) I was skeptical. But the truth is, I think people need to be reminded of what happened. Furthermore, I think this film tells the stories of many people who risked there lives that day that haven't had as much attention as other parts of the tragedy. However, there are many supporting characters whose stories were merely tocuhed on. And according to interviews done by Slate magazine, many of these "supporting characters" played much more intricate roles in the rescues while other characters' stories were exaggerated and somewhat fictionalized. But all-in-all the movie portrays accurate accounts of what McLoughlin, Jimeno, and their families experienced that day.