United 93 Rating: 9

I waited for DVD to watch United 93, thinking it was almost celebratory to watch it in the theatre. Judging from the paltry business it's done, I can only assume others felt the same way. That's too bad. At a lean 111 minutes, the editing is precise and flawless, leaving the confusion understandable even while the film remains lucid. The final twenty minutes are white-knuckle taunt in a way only possible if you know the ending. As a meditation on the nature of courage and heroism, it far surpasses the more highly-acclaimed Flags of Our Fathers which covers the same subject. Because it doesn't hesitate to show the humanness in the enemy even while choosing sides against it, United skirts the ethical morass Flags falls into in denying a moral high ground to either side. And the heroism and courage isn't just displayed in the eight or nine men who charged the terrorist on that September morning. It's seen in the flight attendance who work tirelessly to encourage and comfort the wounded. And it's seen In the folks at the FAA, NORAD, the Pentagon, and countless other agencies as they attempt to respond to information their paradigm cannot allow them to fully comprehend.

This is a remarkable film. It is not, as I feared, an attempt to manipulate the deaths of the innnocent for financial gain. Instead it is a heartfelt salute using the only medium appropriate.