Film

What's on at the cinema plus reviews of the latest movie and DVD releases

Search cinema listings

Browse cinemas A-Z

Search 20,000 reviews

 

World Trade Center (2006)

Director: Oliver Stone

Average user rating
1 review

Movie review

From Time Out London

If ever there was an antidote to the chilly science of Paul Greengrass’s ‘United 93’, it’s Oliver Stone’s cloying 9/11 film: terrifying, soppy, mournful, gung-ho and plodding all in one go. One minute it’s pure horror; the next it’s so daft and sappy that it’s laughable, not least when the hallucinations of a semi-conscious policeman buried in the rubble of the collapsed World Trade Center threaten to evoke the LSD scenes in Stone’s ‘The Doors’.

The events of 9/11, we’re told, highlighted ‘the goodness that we forgot could exist’, which alludes to the heroism of John McLoughlin (Nicolas Cage) and Will Jimeno (Michael Pena), two policemen who entered the towers, were pulled alive from the rubble and whose testimonies inform the film. Ten minutes in, the first plane hits, and the attack is depicted as an oversize shadow on the side of a skyscraper. But it’s sound, not image, that has the most impact: creaks and groans, crashes and thumps. Much time is spent within the tangled mess of the collapsed towers, where the camera stays close to the faces of Cage and Pena. Their dialogue is of the tell-my-wife-I-love-her, don’t-you-dare-die variety, which is credible, if barely interesting. Beckett, it’s not. The real banal, soppy stuff takes place outside, and with the policemen’s waiting, worried families.

‘World Trade Center’ is horrific and rousing, and exactly as expected from a film that never threatened to be anything other than the first unchallenging reaction to 9/11 from Hollywood. It exists as the catalyst to a mass purge. If Stone weren’t in charge, someone else would have made an identikit film. Destiny pervades the project, and anyone who expected Stone to toe anything other than the company line was gravely mistaken.

Author: Dave Calhoun 2006-09-26 11:15:28

Time Out London Issue 1884: September 27-October 4 2006


  • Print this page
  • Send to a friend

User reviews of this film

  • Johnny Knoxville said...
    Posted on Mar 24 2009 20:12 Its a very good movie but its a bit rushed and they make it too long under the rubble. They should show the towers falling or at least ppl running
    Report as inappropriate

What do you think?
Post your review now

clear rating
Min 1 star. Zero stars will be treated as unrated.

*mandatory fields





Top Stories

Stephen Poliakoff discusses 'Glorious 39'

Stephen Poliakoff discusses 'Glorious 39'

Stephen Poliakoff’s ‘Glorious 39’ is his first film for cinema since ‘Food of Love’ in 1997. Dave Calhoun met him

Is 'Paranormal Activity' the new 'Blair Witch'?

Is 'Paranormal Activity' the new 'Blair Witch'?

How does a film go from DIY experiment to box-office smash? 'Paranormal Activity' director Oren Peli explains

Steven Soderbergh on 'The Informant!' and 'The Girlfriend Experience'

Steven Soderbergh on 'The Informant!' and 'The Girlfriend Experience'

We talk to Steven Soderbergh about his two forthcoming films: one featuring a porn star, the other a chubby Matt Damon

A gateway to all things 'New Moon'

A gateway to all things 'New Moon'

In anticipation of 'The Twilight Saga: New Moon', Time Out is offering the chance to pick up a limited edition pack with three exclusive magazines and a free poster.

London Children's Film Festival

London Children's Film Festival

Read our exclusive reviews of films playing at the 2009 London Children’s Film Festival

The films that deserve a TV spin-off

The films that deserve a TV spin-off

With Roland Emmerich suggesting he'd like to make a '2012' TV spin-off, we propose some more movie-to-TV serialisations

The Coen brothers discuss 'A Serious Man'

The Coen brothers discuss 'A Serious Man'

Masters of contrary comedy, Joel and Ethan Coen have struck gold again with their latest, ‘A Serious Man’

Michael Haneke discusses 'The White Ribbon'

Michael Haneke discusses 'The White Ribbon'

Dave Calhoun met with Michael Haneke in Munich to mull over the details of his Palme d'Or winner, 'The White Ribbon'

Ten inspirations behind 'Avatar'?

Ten inspirations behind 'Avatar'?

Time Out ponders the influences behind James Cameron's anticipated space-opera on the basis of the trailer

Time Out's 50 greatest animated films with commentary by Terry Gilliam

Time Out's 50 greatest animated films with commentary by Terry Gilliam

In celebration of the release of Pixar's 'Up' and Wes Anderson's 'Fantastic Mr Fox', read our rundown of fifty classic feature length animations