There are some movies you watch for entertainment, and there are some movies you watch and just sit there quietly when they end.
World Trade Center is one of those movies.
This movie tells the story of September 11, 2001, but instead of trying to tell the entire story of what happened that day, Oliver Stone focuses mainly on two Port Authority police officers, Sergeant John McLoughlin and Officer Will Jimeno, played by Nicolas Cage and Michael Peña.
These men went into the World Trade Center to help people.
And then everything came down.
What really got me about this movie was how quickly everything changed.
At the beginning, it was just another normal morning. People were going to work. Families were going about their daily lives. Police officers were doing their jobs.
Then, suddenly, everything changed.
And when the towers collapsed, McLoughlin and Jimeno found themselves buried under tons of concrete and steel.
From that point, the movie becomes less about the attack itself and more about survival.
And honestly, those scenes trapped underneath the rubble were difficult to watch.
Imagine being unable to move.
You don’t know exactly where you are.
You don’t know if anyone knows you’re alive.
You don’t know if the people you love will ever see you again.
And every sound around you makes you wonder whether another piece of the building is about to fall.
That was the part of the movie that really got to me.
John and Will couldn’t do much physically, but they had each other.
They talked.
They encouraged each other.
They tried to stay conscious.
They tried to stay alive.
And at some point, you realize that sometimes the thing keeping a person alive isn’t food, water, or medicine.
Sometimes it’s simply knowing that someone else is there with you.
That’s what I took from their relationship.
Another thing I appreciated about the movie was the focus on the families.
While these men were fighting for their lives underground, their wives were above ground, waiting for information.
And that kind of waiting can be torture.
You don’t know whether to hope or prepare yourself for the worst.
You don’t know whether the next phone call will bring good news or destroy you.
The movie also shows the people who refused to simply walk away.
One of them was Marine Sergeant Dave Karnes, played by Michael Shannon, who went to Ground Zero looking for survivors.
And that part of the story reminded me that in the middle of terrible situations, there can still be people willing to put themselves in danger to save someone else.
That’s probably the biggest thing I took from World Trade Center.
You never really know what you’re capable of until someone else’s life depends on you.
I also liked that the movie didn’t try to turn the two officers into superheroes.
They were scared.
They were injured.
They were confused.
They were just human beings trying to survive an unbelievable situation.
And that’s what makes their story powerful.
I also think the movie is really about family.
When you are facing death, the things you thought were important suddenly become very small.
Money doesn’t matter.
Your job doesn’t matter.
Your arguments don’t matter.
You start thinking about your wife.
Your children.
Your parents.
The people you love.
And you start wishing you had more time with them.
That part of the movie made me think about how easily we take ordinary days for granted.
You wake up.
You complain about traffic.
You complain about work.
You postpone calling someone.
You tell yourself you’ll visit them later.
But sometimes, later isn’t guaranteed.
That’s what made World Trade Center emotional for me.
It isn’t just about two police officers trapped under a building.
It’s about life, family, sacrifice, hope and the people who refuse to give up on you.
I also understand why some people may find the movie too sentimental. Critics were divided on that aspect, although the film was generally received positively overall. Roger Ebert, for example, praised the scenes between the trapped officers for their personal intensity while criticizing some of the movie’s heavier-handed moments.
But personally, the part that stayed with me wasn’t the politics.
It was the survival.
It was the families waiting.
It was two men buried underneath the rubble trying to keep each other alive.
And most importantly, it was the reminder that when everything is taken away from you, hope can become the only thing you have left.
World Trade Center is not an easy movie to watch.
But it is a movie that reminds you to appreciate life while you still have it.
James
