World Trade Center: First Great Movie of 2006?
World Trade Center, a movie about the 9/11 attack, opens Wednesday, Aug. 9. Directed by controversial filmmaker Oliver Stone, the movie is already getting rave reviews and Oscar buzz, more than two weeks before opening night.
Stone loves to make movies which address modern history: from the Vietnam war (Platoon, 1986, and Born on the Fourth of July, 1989) to JFK (1991) and Nixon (1995). Stone has won three Oscars: two for best director (Platoon and Fourth of July) and one for best screenplay (Midnight Express). His last film, Alexander (2004), was his biggest flop, grossing just $34 million despite the all-star cast of Colin Farrell, Anthony Hopkins and Angelina Jolie.
Many people have expressed concern about trusting the controversial Stone with the delicate subject of 9/11. The filmmaker has made no secret of his ultra-liberal views. He has lauded Fidel Castro as being “one of the Earth’s wisest people,” and he has credited LSD and peyote as fueling his creative process.
Nevertheless, surprisingly, the film is getting raves from some uexpected corners. Cal Thomas, the conservative Christian columnist, after an advance screening, wrote:
It is one of the greatest pro-American, pro-family, pro-faith, pro-male, flag-waving, God Bless America films you will ever see.
Nicholas Cage leads the cast of World Trade Center. The movie tells the true story of Port Authority police officers who go to the rescue of Trade Center victims and become trapped in the rubble themselves. The movie’s official website is here.
We haven’t had any truly great movies so far in 2006, and quite a few disappointments (e.g., The Da Vinci Code, Superman Returns). I don’t know anything about Cal Thomas’ taste in films – but I hope WTC is at least half as good as Thomas says it is.
