Evidently five years was all the longer Hollywood had to wait until making a film about the tragic events of September 11, 2001 into movies. Many people wondered whether or not it was right to make money on such a painful event. Others wondered how Hollywood would fill in the unknown events taking place on those airplanes. I was more concerned with the latter. I knew Hollywood would go after 9/11 eventually, but how they did it was my biggest concern.
For those who may be confused, this review is NOT for United 93, the Hollywood film. Flight 93 was a made-for-TV movie that tells the exact same story. I have not yet seen United 93, which I will ultimately compare to this film.
I’ll be honest, Flight 93 isn’t that good. It’s not the story that I don’t like, because the story is the story. You can’t make a story about Flight 93 without covering the essential details. The problems lie mostly within the visual effects and the dialog that we can never be sure of. This is the real story of real people, but the words the passengers use with each other on the plane and their actions are being made up, no matter how you slice it. Oh, we know they eventually rushed the hijackers and forced the plane down, but everything else is artistic liberty, which the writers of Flight 93 just didn’t do well enough at for me.
There was always going to be a fine line between annoying, chest-pounding uber-patriotism and callously underplaying the passengers’ bravery. Flight 93 tries to walk the middle, but the result isn’t very satisfying. Maybe it’s because of budget restrictions on acting talent (TV movie, remember?), and maybe it’s something else entirely, but the dialog just doesn’t convey the sense of emergency that it should. It also does play into the uber-patriotism a little bit, but not too much. Still, it left a semi-sour taste in my mouth.
The other thing I wasn’t so crazy about was the interspersing of teary-eyed family members talking to their ill-fated loved ones, slowly and painfully coming to terms with their impending loss. The events were tragic and everyone was sad that day, but you can’t force me to care just by showing a few teary-eyed wives and moms. Also, 9/11 was such a jolt that I doubt anyone will really ever be able to fully relive the exact emotions they went through that day. Flight 93 seems to try and force it out of you. Personally, I’ve gotten over 9/11 and will never revisit the shock and sadness I felt that day. It’s not that I’m immune or desensitized to those feelings, I just don’t see the point in reliving them.
I had difficulty appreciating Flight 93 because of its attempt to invoke feelings in me that are long gone and I can’t bring back. And besides, it was made for TV, so its chances at being very good were reduced from the get go.
Evidently five years was all the longer Hollywood had to wait until making a film about the tragic events of September 11, 2001 into movies. Many people wondered whether or not it was right to make money on such a painful event. Others wondered how Hollywood would fill in the unknown events taking place on those airplanes. I was more concerned with the latter. I knew Hollywood would go after 9/11 eventually, but how they did it was my biggest concern.
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