A most cathartic experience came over me when I viewed the much publicized "United 93". At once speculative and realistic, the 111-minute film will surely bring back the pall of fatalistic inevitability one feels about 9/11, but its more defining characteristic is revealing the untapped heroism and humanism of people caught in the most malevolent of circumstances. Masterfully written and directed by Paul Greengrass, this relentlessly intense movie covers that fateful morning when United Airlines Flight 93 departed Newark for San Francisco with 33 passengers and seven crew members on board.

As it turns out, Greengrass's heavy background in documentaries turns out to be a blessing in this treatment, as he tracks the subsequent events in real time and uses either under-the-radar actors or actual aviation personnel to play the real-life characters. Instead of focusing on the higher profile passengers to provide an emotional locus, which a more commercial filmmaker would have done, he encompasses all the passengers within the emotional purview of the film, including the four hijackers who killed the pilots and took control of the plane. The key dramatic difference is that we get to know not the people but the situation at hand. Consequently, we get a more realistic sense of the scale of the events that may have occurred on that flight. That's not to say it is any less devastating. In fact, the last half-hour is harrowing in the most personal sense as the inevitable becomes reality.

The power of the film comes from its surprisingly apolitical perspective and the inclusion of the ground personnel trying to comprehend the scope of all the redirected planes that day, in particular, Ben Sliney who effectively plays himself that day, the just-promoted supervisor of the National Air Traffic Control Center in Herndon, Va. None of the actors stand out because the film cumulatively achieves a verisimilitude that simply knocks me out. The film also does not pretend to be the definitive version of what happened on the last few moments of the flight. In an emotional sense, it is rather moot as we are talking about degrees of detail at that point. This is truly essential viewing.

I was nervous to see any movie on September 11th due to the fact that in some ways I felt that it was too soon, seeing how we just had the 5th anniversary. Not to mention, I didn't want to go through that depression again and watch those horrifying events happen again, a girl at work had mentioned how she saw United 93 and World Trade Center, she said it was nothing like what you would expect of an action movie, it's more dedicated to those who lost their lives that tragic day.

United 93 is a truly inspiring tale about the 4th hijacked plane that crashed in Pennsylvania. I remember seeing this on the news on September 11th, we heard so many different things, that it was shot down, the passengers gained on the hijackers, and to be honest I'd rather believe that the passengers stuck together and prevented more lives from being perished that day. These people were truly incredible and the thing that I loved about the film was that it was made to show that they were not victims, they chose to not be so, they knew what they were facing and unfortunately died trying.

Another thing that I appreciated is that I think we did forget about those planes that were hijacked and the horror that the passengers must have gone through. We usually only think of the World Trade Centers when we think of September 11th. I could never imagine what thoughts were racing through those passenger's heads. It truly was devastating to just think what the families were going through when they received phone calls from their loved one's and having to say good bye. We can't forget those who were so brave to help others and those who unfortunately who crashed into the World Trade Center and Pentegon, nothing could be strong enough to say about them, my sincere condolences to the families.

I was wrong about these films, they truly are important. Even though it's fresh in most of our memories, let's not forget those who died trying to save others. God bless the souls on Flight United 93, you truly are hero's and will never be forgotten.

10/10

This real-life thriller chronicles the events inside United 93 on September 11th, 2001 – a day that has gone down in history as one of the biggest tragedies to hit America. Basically, it's a palm-sweating tale of terrorism and hijacking, as innocent passengers get caught up in events that will have devastating consequences. And devastating is the word to describe this movie. For nearly two hours we're subjected to a slow, horrifying build-up telling a story we all know and are aware of, before director Paul Greengrass lets rip with a pulse-pounding, utterly terrifying and at the same time awe-inspiring climax that is the most powerful bit of film I've ever watched – I couldn't breathe, I was openly crying, and I was utterly entranced by this superb bit of filmmaking.

Nothing more can be said really, other than that this film acts as a memorial to those on the flight, and that everyone should see it. Acting, technical qualities, and cinematography are all absolutely great, and nothing falls flat anywhere in the movie. Spellbinding, awesome, utterly disturbing, downbeat, and yet uplifting – the cocktail of emotions you'll experience as this film closes is unlike anything you'll have ever felt before. A real trip.