Fridae

Since two hijacked airplanes slammed into the twin towers of America's World Trade Center on Sept 11, 2001, the world has never quite been the same. Tensions between the Western and Islamic world continue to flare up now and then, as each tries to assert its belief system and way of life.

Into this fray steps Oliver Stone, the one director who loves to dip his toes into complex and controversial messes. Some of his past films like Nixon, JFK, The Doors and Alexander depicted famous figures in sometimes unflattering light and even perpetuated popular myths and conspiracy theories. Other films like Born on the Fourth of July, Wall Street and Natural Born Killers became hot talking points when they were released. If there is anyone who lives for controversy, it's Stone.

Strangely though, World Trade Center is not the controversial film that you might expect of Stone. Rather, it is a straightforward human drama about two policemen (Nicolas Cage and Michael Pena) who go to World Trade Center to help office workers evacuate the buildings. When the towers suddenly collapse around them, the two survive but are buried under 20 feet of rubble. The film depicts how they try to keep their spirits up even though they are in excruciating pain, and how their wives (Maggie Gyllenhaal and Maria Bello) struggle to stay sane while they wait for news of their husbands.

World Trade Center doesn't feel like an Oliver Stone film simply because it is so non-political. However, as a human drama, it is still works very well. The performances are wonderful all around, and the recreation of Ground Zero is absolutely stunning. Although one wishes that Stone had been more true to himself by examining the reasons for and circumstances surrounding the terrorist attack, one supposes that Stone saw it fit to steer clear of politics for once and focus the film entirely on the ordinary heroes of 9/11 such as the police officers and firemen.

World Trade Center is a good human drama, but it is something of a disappointment to fans of Oliver Stone.