Movie Review of "World Trade Center"
Rated PG-13
By CK Movie Kid Jonathan Lack
Rating * * * * (out of 4)

Writing this review after the film opening weekend, I was able to see that Oliver Stone's World Trade Center, based on the events of September 11th 2001, came in 3rd in box office results, behind the hilarious and crowd pleasing "Talladega Nights" and the dance film "Step Up." And I know why. People don't want to see a film about 9/11. They say it's too early, that the content is too heavy. Maybe that was true for March's "United 93," but World Trade Center is a whole different experience.

World Trade Center is not a story of the evil that America saw that day, like "United 93." It is a story of the heroes of that day, and how we as a nation rose above that evil to help others in need. WTC tells the story of two New York Port Authority officers who were trapped in the rubble after going to evacuate the World Trade Center.
The movie works on many levels. Not only do we see the trapped people, we see their frightened families as well, and what they were going through waiting for them to come home, and that was very interesting to watch, because all too often, we forget about the family members of the missing or dead people of that day.

We also see the story of the men and women who went in to rescue the people who were trapped, which is really the strongest point of the movie. Director Oliver Stone shows us that as a nation, we rose up to help those in need. Many people who helped did not have the duty too. They didn't work for the police or the firefighters. They simply helped out.

All of these stories are brought to life by stunning visuals. The set design team has perfectly recreated the sets of the rubble and of the World Trade Center itself. The film wouldn't have been nearly as powerful if it weren't for the amazing sets built for the film.

And the movie wouldn't have been as powerful without the brilliant performances of the actors. As always, Nicolas Cage is brilliant in the role of Sgt. John McLoughlin, one of the men trapped in the rubble. Relatively unknown actor Michael Pena portrays officer Will Jimeno, another one of the men trapped in rubble. Their performances were brilliant; it was like watching the real thing.

Many people say it's too soon for a film like this. They say that we're not ready. But that's the people who haven't seen this film. World Trade Center is an uplifting and inspirational story, and it makes us proud of country, and how we helped each other out in the face of an overwhelming crisis. It goes to show that in our darkest hour, the best of us can come out. I think everyone should see this movie.
That is, if you're over the age of 12. It's a very intense and sometime gritty film, and a strong PG-13.

So far this year, we really haven't had any movies that could be up for Best Picture come Oscar time. But World Trade Center changes this. In the rest of my reviews this year, if there is a movie that deserves the Best Picture award at Oscar time, I'll add it to this list. World Trade Center is the first one.

1. World Trade Center
2. ?
3. ?
4. ?
5. ?

Keep checking my reviews to see this list play out and see my picks for the Best Picture nominations. At the end of the year, I'll pick my choice for the best of the five.

So go see World Trade Center. You won't feel saddened. You'll feel inspired.