United Airlines Flight 93, a 757 with 40 passengers and flight crew on board, was the fourth and final hijacked flight to take off that dark day. This film recreates the flight in real-time, from the delayed takeoff to the hijacking to the realization by those onboard that their plane was part of a much bigger operation (they found out about the World Trade Center and Pentagon attacks via cell and airline phones) and then to the final moments when, realizing the fate that awaited them, the passengers united and overtook the hijackers in a valiant attempt to reclaim the plane.

When I had first heard about both United 93 and World Trade Center being in production, I felt both nauseous and pissed off (but not surprised). Turning 9/11 into a night out at the cinema was stomach-churning enough, but an even bigger ill-inducing element was how they would go about doing it. It doesn't take too much of an imagination to see these horrific events become some sort of jingoistic, manipulative melodrama you'd expect a Chuck Norris, Harrison Ford type starring in, complete with a Hollywood-conjured ending where one man would save the day and defeat the terrorists. And yes, I also found myself asking the two questions many have also voiced over and over and probably continue to do so until the next film or two is released this year: Is it indeed too soon, and more importantly, what is the point to making these films?

Well, I can't speak for Stone or Binder's films since neither have been finished nor released (although after Alexander, I really am dreading World Trade Center for reasons other than subject matter), but I can talk about United 93. After sitting in the theater for what may very well be approximately 100 of the most intense, brutal and stunning moments of my adult film-going life, it is safe to say United 93 was not what I had expected, or was dreading. Free of manipulation, melodrama, exploitation and any other affectation Hollywood usually bestows, United 93 arrives as the first truly great movie of 2006. And, in answering one of the aforementioned questions, it is not a moment too soon.

To begin with, I doubt you could have found a better person to handle this project than writer/director Paul Greengrass. After doing exhaustive research that included the 9/11 Commission Report, actual cockpit recordings and the participation of the family members of the Flight 93 crew and passengers, Greengrass employs the same style of pseudo-documentary filmmaking to this film that he did to his great 2002 drama, Bloody Sunday.

That even-handed (Fear not: the terrorists are still the bad guys), guerrilla technique effectively puts the viewer right in the middle of the day's events. By using a cast of largely unknown actors and real-life individuals who were working in the air traffic and military control centers that day and with the expert technical assistance of cinematographer Barry Ackroyd, Editors Clare Douglas and Christopher Rouse and composer John Powell, Greengrass realistically conveys the chaos, confusion, unity and heroism of the fateful day.

This September will mark the fifth anniversary of 9/11. As the events of that horrific day begin to recede into history, an aura of complacency permeates our society today, despite the continuing war on terrorism, the constant global threat posed by Al Qaeda, and increasing focus and scrutiny by the media.

The point of United 93's existence is twofold: to serve as a tribute to those innocents who perished on that day, and to serve as a harsh reminder of what we are up against and what could easily happen again. Given its intensity and level of brutal realism, the film is not for everyone (it was almost too much for me at times), but for those who are willing to experience it, they will discover a gut-wrenching, emotionally devastating masterpiece that will be cathartic for some, unbearable for the rest and necessary for all.

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