UNITED 93 FReeper Reviews

self | April 28, 2006 | RobFromGa

[RobFromGa]

Just saw United 93-- I thought it was excellent. It evolves in real-time and its cuts back and forth between the Air Traffic controllers, the Military room, and the plane.

It was somewhat shocking to watch the level of confusion in terms of what was going on, but when you see what information that they were dealing with, it makes sense.

The hijackers to me came across more as fanatical than evil, and they were not turban-wearing obvious characters, they were cleaned up and I ride on planes with people like them on every flight I take.

In the movie, they are carrying out the plans of others and are obsessive in their task. We are not fighting an enemy that is likely to be reasoned with.

There is one character that I'm glad they included- he has a European *maybe French* accent and he makes a number of comments along the lines of "If we do what they say, they'll spare our lives"-- typical appeasement mentality.

Thanks to this group of heroes, many thousands of lives may have been spared and we kept the Islamic nuts from claiming the Capitol or White House as a prize.

I give in 9.5/10!

[kellynch]

Thanks. I needed that!

[GulfWar1Vet]

You are welcome :)

[se_ohio_young_conservative]

*hug* God Bless You Kelly. God bless...

[GulfWar1Vet]

What are your recollections of 9/11? You were about 15 yrs old, right?

[NorseWood]

I have not see it yet, perhaps this weekend we will go. The comments that I have read here at FreeRepublic, and elsewhere, seem to indicate that although the time that has passed since 9/11 has dulled some of the horror of that day, the feelings of America are not that far below the surface. I hope that this movie wakes the public up to the fact that we are still facing a very real threat, just as evil as it was on 9/11.
We must not forget.
If we do not stand up to evil today, in all its manifestations, then we too may be forced into a situation similar to the passengers on Flight 93 that had to make the ultimate decision.
We must defend the principles upon which our country was founded. We must defend our borders against the invasion that threatens to invade our country with illegal foreigners that want to destroy our culture and heritage. We must defend our countries and allies against the treats of destruction that come from fanatical regimes that would like to see our western civilization brought to its knees.
This evil has many faces, but it all boils down to a attempt to deny each individual the God given right to love, freedom, liberty, peace, truth, and life.
God Bless America!

[se_ohio_young_conservative]

I was in my 2nd period high school history class. I walked in and the teacher said something like "anyone hear about a plane hitting one of the WTC towers ?". A couple of students said they heard something about it and thought they heard that it was a small plane. Well, the teacher turned on the radio. I even remember the station he put it on. 98.3 FM (A country station out of Logan, Ohio.). They had CNN radio playing and were talking about the 2nd plane that had just hit the other tower. Not long after that we heard about the plane hitting the Pentagon. The classroom was very quiet. I went to English next. The radio tuned into NPR in there. It was then I heard about Flight 93. I personally did not know what to do. I was stunned. I was not a believer then, But I did say a prayer at lunch. I remember one of the teachers saying "we are going to war boys". I was upset that they did not let us out of school earlier.

I got home around 3 that afternoon. My mother was silent looking at the tv. It was rough. Just a sick feeling that afternoon.

I watched it until I needed a break. I went for a ride with my uncle John. We stopped at a dairy queen to grab some ice cream. The words "pray for our nation" were posted on the sign outside.

I remember what a sunny beautiful evening that was. I got home just as President Bush came on tv. I was in tears when he quoted that verse from the bible. That was amazing.

I spent all night watching television with my mom. We did not have cable at that time so, so we were stuck watching Peter Jennings on ABC (yuck). I was such a terrible day.

I know that God put George W. Bush on the earth to be our President for that moment.

[RobFromGa]

nice review, thanks for posting the link...

[GulfWar1Vet]

Thanks :) I was home recovering from surgery, and I turned on the television and it was about 7:45 am (CST), so I saw the whole thing. I was riveted to the set for the whole week after that day. It was surreal. I thought I was watching a movie, instead of real life.

yes, that day was awful in so many ways.

[pollyannaish]

Thank you for an excellent review. You articulated why this is an important film beautifully.

And welcome.

[Phsstpok]

It was somewhat shocking to watch the level of confusion in terms of what was going on, but when you see what information that they were dealing with, it makes sense.

I have not seen the film yet, but intend to as soon as I can (and I actually plan to pay for this one, not just "get it through other means..."). 

However, on this topic I actually have some personal experience to bring to the discussion.  I drove an ambulance for a living in the mid 70s (professionally) as well as working in various volunteer emergency services capacities in the 60s, 70s and early 80s.  A shocking level of confusion is 100% normal.  It's why the jobs are hard and why these people train so hard.  And, from what I understand, they did an amazing job.  They figured out what was going on in minutes, given very incomplete and contradictory data, and then did yeoman's work getting the moribund defenses of this country (thanks to Bill Clinton and his traitorous minions)  involved and moving against an impossible threat.

The term "soft target" isn't random or meaningless.  We were not geared up for such an event because, as a free society, we could not be and still remain a free society.  Given that, these people "done good."  It's easy to look back and ask "why didn't they know what was happening?"  We must push back hard against that notion every time it is raised.

One of the most interesting things I found out about this film this week is that the majority of the people in this film representing the FAA and NORAD folks who were on duty are being played by the real people themselves, reliving the experience as best as they can remember it.  That strikes me as incredibly significant.

[GulfWar1Vet]

FYI....the movie "Flight 93" will be on tonight on A&E at 8 pm CST. This movie was on earlier this year, I think.

Be interesting to compare the two films and see if anything new comes out.

[RobFromGa]

I'll be interested to hear what you think about the film. I believe that the possibility of taking focused, effective action decreases by the square of the number of people involved.

Anytime you have a committee or a beaurocracy involved, there are just too many points of view, each with a different life experience and often different set of facts. Achieving consensus becomes almost impossible esp when they are all worried about the second-guessers and Monday morning quarterbacks.

A single person, or small closely matched group can make decisions and act according to real-time data. That is one advantages that the terrorists have as they go about trying to beat our defenses. And the element of surprise and confusion helps significantly too.

At the lowest level, it is individuals and small bands of individuals that make the difference in many cases. And large warheads and planes to drop them from.

I look forward to your thoughts on the film.

[MaestroLC]

I saw the first showing on Friday morning. This movie is not mindless Hollywood entertainment, so don't go expecting a feel-good time at the end. Even though I knew how it ended, I couldn't help but want the passengers to somehow have everything turn out okay and survive. But that was not to be. When the screen went black at the end, I found myself stunned, moved to tears, and silent after it was all over. Most of the audience I was with was the same way. It is a loving tribute to those on Flight 93 that saved thousands by their heroic actions. There was no judgment, no agenda. It was objective, just laying out what they thought happened that day. The confusion, miscommunication, and disbelief of all the participants were perfectly realized. I was particularly impressed with Ben Sliney, who was the FAA operations manager at Kennedy Airport--he did a spectacular job. If you think you can handle the tough emotions, I suggest you go see it, and see it with someone you love. It is a magnificent achievement, and art at its highest.

On another note, I saw some pinheads on Fox News discussing the movie this fine Saturday morning, all of whom had not seen it. One said that this was the perfect recruiting tool for Al Qaeda, another said it was exploitation, and yet another said it was a Bush propaganda movie. None of this is true. What I found amazing, but not surprising, is that these losers didn't have the guts to actually see the movie before they formed an opinion. I dismissed their comments and turned off the TV to read a book.

And on yet another note, some folks, mostly Dem liberals, are attending this movie to cause problems for others. One incident I read was that a group of 20-something kids decided to opine their thoughts, such as "BS" and "propaganda", to the rest of the theater--until one patron had enough and told them to STFU. One of the kids protested, and then a group of patrons got up and told them to leave, which they did. Later, the patron who told the story said that they noticed the same kids at a burger place, and their car had the bumper-sticker 'Kerry/Edwards'. If this happens to you, don't hesitate to call the manager and have these kooks removed; they deserve it.

God bless United 93.

[Guenevere]

Just a thought....

Why do you think 'they' would rerun the A & E version, when this new movie is trying to make an impression on its first weekend out?

A lot of folks-ie,liberal media-- are trying very hard to neutralize the impact of this movie.

Do you think that's why someone is bringing out the A & E version again?

(tinfoil solidly in place :^

[combat_boots]

Your comments are Churchillian. Defense in an unpopular time is always a test of will.

I watched the towers fall not from Manhattan, but from a tv on a military base. To see the base over the next 3 days with my own countrymen aiming machine guns on terrets at me, in back of cement blockades, and in back of uniformed local LEOs, was chilling.

A hotel nearby filled up with international travelers trying to get out of the country. I was dumbfounded.

Coming home by land in the next days, I never saw so many flags. For the first time in a long time, I thought well of my countrymen.

It was then, when I came back home for a bit, that I read and read and learned to believe that this is a war of civilizations, if not holy war, and decided I would keep silent no longer.

The next day, I joined Free Republic, and began conservative activism.

[onyx]

Good on you. Try to remember to come back to this thread and tell us your opinion.

[snarkytart]

According to early estimations United 93 will make around 20 million this weekend.
That is excellent because it is only opening in a 1700 theatres.

[snarkytart]

PS..And U-93 will open at #1.

#2 will be the new Robin Williams movie around 16 million, and that is opening in over 3000 theatres.

[fanfan]

And then, one year later, I was in Montreal for a long weekend. I went to Mass at the Anglican Cathedral and had to listen to the priest give a sermon on how the Americans deserved what they got. As I walked out, I said to him "I'm from New York, and I knew people who died in the Towers. And I can assure you that they did not deserve it."

OMG!

I'm so sorry.

[combat_boots]

"too much to believe that a liberal European filmmaker made a startingly honest and gripping film about an American tragedy?"

Your comment just reminded me of the flowers left along the fence lines at US military bases overseas. The military left them there for some time.