Extensive cast list at http://imdb.com/title/tt0475276/
Directed by Paul Greengrass
Screenplay by Paul Greengrass
Distributed by Universal Pictures
Rated R for language, and some intense sequences of terror and violence
Runtime- 111 minutes
Website: http://www.united93movie.com
"United 93," the new flick from director Paul Greengrass, dramatizes the events leading up to the highjacking of United Airlines Flight 93 by Islamic terrorists on September 11th, 2001, the actual highjacking, and the eventual downing of the plane in a field in Pennsylvania after the passengers break into the cockpit and try to rest control of the plane from the suicide terrorist pilots. The movie also delves into the plight of air traffic control personnel and military authorities on the ground as they slowly find out what is actually happening in New York City and Virginia, where three other similarly highjacked commercial airplanes destroy the World Trade Center towers and crash into the front of the Pentagon, killing thousands of people. The flick is played out in relative real time, features a cast of relative unknowns (this reviewer says "relative" because, if you're a fan of "Law & Order," you've likely seen some of the actors playing the passengers) and some of the actual air traffic control and military personnel who were there manning the screens and the phones that terrible day.
The movie starts out with the four terrorists praying in their hotel room. They engage in a very specific ritual (one that includes serious manscaping) before getting dressed, gathering their tools of death and destruction, and heading off to the airport. The trip there is uneventful, like everything else depicted up until the point where the crap hits the fan. The scene shifts back between the terrorists and the other passengers going to the ticket counter, going through the security rigmarole, and then waiting to board. The pilots and flight attendants go through their usual routines, as well. They check the plane, inside and out, for problems. It's just another day for dang near everyone. The scene shifts to the air traffic control base in Virginia where we meet Ben Sliney (playing himself) the head of operations for the base. He's one of the first people to find out about the potential highjacking of a commercial airliner. He doesn't believe it as it's something that hadn't happened in years. He tells his subordinates to keep him informed. He has a meeting to go to. Even with the potential highjacking, everything is still relatively calm. It could be a mistake. A joke.
We soon find out it's not a joke.
It's very real.
Other air traffic controllers find other planes not responding, flying off course. They report the highjacking, try to investigate. Meanwhile, United 93 has just boarded. No one there knows what's going on (except, of course, for the terrorists). It doesn't take long for military authorities to get involved (that day they were about to engage in a military preparedness exercise. When they were alerted of the first highjacking they put the exercise on hold and started tracking planes) but even they are unsure of what to do. They don't have much information to act on. What are the rules of engagement?
The story keeps going and going, the confusion mounting. What the heck is happening? And then they turn on CNN. They all see the World Trade Center on fire. There's a big hole in the side of the building. Meanwhile, flight 93 takes off. Things are still somewhat normal. The pilots engage on chit chat about what they plan on doing the following week. The flight attendants go around taking drink and breakfast orders. The passengers read newspapers, listen to music, talk amongst themselves. The terrorists sit and wait. The leader, the one with the glasses, acts as though he's unsure of whether or not he should go through with it. The three others are anxious. They have to wait for the "go" signal. Come on, come on.
We all know the rest of the story.
The other tower gets hit.
The Pentagon gets hit.
All airspace is shut down.
And United 93 gets taken. The attack on the plane is sudden, brutal. The pilots gets slashed to death, one of the terrorists kills a nearby passenger (Chip Zein, the voice of "Howard the Duck") to show who is in charge, and the passengers and crew and rushed to the back of the plane. One of the terrorists wears a bomb and shows off the detonator. The "new" pilot settles in, charts his proposed course (believed to be the White House or the Capital Building) and heads towards his "glorious" doom.
The passengers start calling the airport and their loved ones to tell them what's happening. The passengers find out about the other attacks. They quickly hatch a plan. Take the cockpit. Will it work? They have no idea. But they have to try something.
And so they do.
"United 93" is simply amazing. The first hour or so, where we wait for the highjackers to take the plane, is insanely suspenseful. The back and forth between the authorities trying to figure out what's happening and the passengers on flight 93 not having any idea what's happening or what is about to happen makes you jumpy. Not in a fun way, but in a "for the love of God" way. You know what is going to happen, you know how it ends, you wish things played out differently, you're disgusted by what happens, but you can't stop watching. Immediately after the highjacking, the flick sort of peters itself out (and it's done on purpose. After the highjacking we go back to the air traffic controllers and military authorities still trying to figure out what to do. The military has to get authorization from the President to shoot a plane down, they don't have any armed planed in the area ready to go, and the other flights in the air have to be brought down somewhere. Everyone knows what is going on but no one knows what to do. It's a great set up for the coming butt kicking from the passengers). The attack on the terrorists is just as brutal as the earlier terrorist attack. It seems like it takes forever for the passengers to reach the cockpit doors. If only they had a few thousand feet more.
It's amazing that Greengrass managed to make a movie that is simply ever escalating terror and unease that never really scares you. It makes you mad, upset, and eventually it fills you with a kind of sadness. It's numbing. The closest thing to a feeling of exhilaration is when the passengers slam through the cockpit door and rush the pilot. It's like a zombie attack. The terrorist pilot is going down. Bit it's only a thought for a second. You know no one survives.
The actors who portray the passengers are uniformly good. No one gets to stand out as a "star" because no one is. They all had to do something as a group, they all had to rise to the occasion and figure out what to do. If they were going to die, they were going to die fighting.
It really is a horror movie. One of the best ever made.
Besides the appearance of Chip Zein, also watch for "familiar" faces John Rothman as passenger Edward P. Felt (he makes a 911 call in the bathroom), David Rasche as passenger Donald Freeman Greene (and this reviewer doesn't know if this is a kind of inside joke, perhaps a bit of unintentional irony, but Rasche played the dumb macho cop in the classic TV series "Sledgehammer!" and here in "United 93" he's the passenger with the previous flying experience the other passengers hope will be able to take over flying the plane. For some reason that just seems morbidly hilarious), Gregg Henry as Colonel Robert Marr, the NORAD commander trying to find the President so he can get authority to shoot any plane down perceived to be a threat, and Rebecca Schull (of "Wings" fame. Unintentional coincidence?) as passenger Patricia Cushing.
"United 93" isn't going to make you feel good about anything, nor is it going to give you greater insight into the minutia of that terrible day. It's made to watch and experience and nothing more. Like all great horror flicks.
Dang right you need to see it.
Right now.
The 411: “United 93” is an experience you’ll likely never forget. It starts out making you feel uneasy and never stops. It only gets worse. Highly recommended in all ways.
