World Trade Center doesn't live up to expectations
This movie review appeared in Fort McMurray Today Aug. 15, 2006
WORLD TRADE CENTER
- Starring: Nicolas Cage
- Directed by: Oliver Stone
- Rating: PG
2 1/2 stars (out of four)
By PAULA OGONOSKI
Today staff
"Disappointing" is the best way to describe Hollywood's first film directly about the collapse of the World Trade Center.
Just months after United 93 landed in theatres, controversial director Oliver Stone releases his attempt at conveying one of the most pivotal moments in history.
World Trade Center, written by rookie writer Andrea Berloff, tries to tell the true story about two port authority police officers trapped in the rubble, John McLoughlin (Nicholas Cage) and William Jimeno (Michael Pena). The story shows the hours leading to the disaster and the time while the two men were buried alive, 20 feet below the ground in an elevator shaft.
It felt like Berloff was overwhelmed with the various aspects of the story and simply couldn't find the elements that would be important to the viewer.
The thing that bothered me the most, was the lack of character development. Many characters are introduce and then left on the sidelines. In one scene a wife is told her husband, an officer, might be alive; we don't see her again when the worst is confirmed. In another scene, a cop from Wisconsin is seen getting upset over the incident, leading us to think he's a pivotal character. We don't see him again until the end, handing out hotdogs to the workers at Ground Zero. I understand the point that Berloff and Stone were trying to make -- that brethren were killed and everyone tried to do his part -- but it's watered down. It's a characteristic Stone isn't know for. Also, key characters important to the rescue aren't introduced at all in the beginning; they just show up.
I also wanted to know about how the two heroes reacted when they discovered it wasn't a car bomb that went off, their belief during their ordeal, and that both buildings had in fact collapsed. We went through a heroic journey with them, and I feel ripped off I didn't get the rest of the story.
Despite the characters being underdeveloped, the actors are high-calibre. For many, this is the largest project they've been on and I expect they will make big names for themselves. Maggie Gyllenhaal (Allison Jimeno) showcases one of her most compelling performances to date, playing the wife of one of the officers.
But the performances don't make up for the sloppy movie-making.
There are obvious goofs in the film, including microphones being visible in numerous shots, and the same paramedic being used at different sites during the same scene.
With a film of this kind of importance, it's a disgrace filmmakers seem flippant about the details.
---
© Copyright 2006, Fort McMurray Today.
WORLD TRADE CENTER
- Starring: Nicolas Cage
- Directed by: Oliver Stone
- Rating: PG
2 1/2 stars (out of four)
By PAULA OGONOSKI
Today staff
"Disappointing" is the best way to describe Hollywood's first film directly about the collapse of the World Trade Center.
Just months after United 93 landed in theatres, controversial director Oliver Stone releases his attempt at conveying one of the most pivotal moments in history.
World Trade Center, written by rookie writer Andrea Berloff, tries to tell the true story about two port authority police officers trapped in the rubble, John McLoughlin (Nicholas Cage) and William Jimeno (Michael Pena). The story shows the hours leading to the disaster and the time while the two men were buried alive, 20 feet below the ground in an elevator shaft.
It felt like Berloff was overwhelmed with the various aspects of the story and simply couldn't find the elements that would be important to the viewer.
The thing that bothered me the most, was the lack of character development. Many characters are introduce and then left on the sidelines. In one scene a wife is told her husband, an officer, might be alive; we don't see her again when the worst is confirmed. In another scene, a cop from Wisconsin is seen getting upset over the incident, leading us to think he's a pivotal character. We don't see him again until the end, handing out hotdogs to the workers at Ground Zero. I understand the point that Berloff and Stone were trying to make -- that brethren were killed and everyone tried to do his part -- but it's watered down. It's a characteristic Stone isn't know for. Also, key characters important to the rescue aren't introduced at all in the beginning; they just show up.
I also wanted to know about how the two heroes reacted when they discovered it wasn't a car bomb that went off, their belief during their ordeal, and that both buildings had in fact collapsed. We went through a heroic journey with them, and I feel ripped off I didn't get the rest of the story.
Despite the characters being underdeveloped, the actors are high-calibre. For many, this is the largest project they've been on and I expect they will make big names for themselves. Maggie Gyllenhaal (Allison Jimeno) showcases one of her most compelling performances to date, playing the wife of one of the officers.
But the performances don't make up for the sloppy movie-making.
There are obvious goofs in the film, including microphones being visible in numerous shots, and the same paramedic being used at different sites during the same scene.
With a film of this kind of importance, it's a disgrace filmmakers seem flippant about the details.
---
© Copyright 2006, Fort McMurray Today.
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