Last night I made the decision--not lightly--mind you, to view United 93.
Wow.
At first--when events and characters are just setup--I found it somewhat boring, to be completely frank. However, once the terrorists fully emerge and the takeover is in motion, I was captivated. A few critics have said that the movie successfully humanizes the terrorists (in some way eliciting sympathy from us as viewers), but my view is that it balanced the likely truth that--even though driven by their vision of Allah and the promise of Heaven--they still felt fear while carrying out such a horrible "mission."
The really successful thing the movie did is that it elicited a primal urge in me, and I think in all of us, and that is that when we see such a horrific inversion of humanity--the brutal slaying of those on board as well as the other planes' devastation of the World Trade Center--our own urge is to redress with supreme intensity that injustice. I placed myself in the situation; I was, for the duration, on board that doomed plane, destined to die at the merciless hands of some Islamic extremist, but found myself also reveling in the homemade recompense issued at the hands of that band of doomed passengers, as they grabbed fire extinguishers and other assorted weapons, desperately trying to regain control and mete their own brand of justice.
Had I a knife, I too would've literally bludgeoned to death the terrorists, with absolutely no qualms.
Its ending is terse--no better word can be found. No stupid asides, no flaming remarks, no comparisons or contrasts between Islam and Christianity, no political dissents, no judgments. In short, the movie is successful precisely because it just is. I won't contend that the acting is good, but really, is that important?
Posted by stephend at December 12, 2006 1:24 PM