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United 93

United 93 (2006)

tomatometer

91

Average Rating: 8.2/10
Reviews Counted: 200
Fresh: 181 | Rotten: 19

Potent and sobering, United 93 is even more gut-wrenching because the outcome is already known. While difficult to watch, director Paul Greengrass' film has been made with skill and treats the subject matter with respect, never resorting to the aggrandizement of which Hollywood has sometimes been accused. Especially effective is the cast of mostly unknown actors, who portray the passengers of the doomed flight as ordinary people who respond with bravery to extraordinary circumstances.

88

Average Rating: 7.9/10
Critic Reviews: 41
Fresh: 36 | Rotten: 5

Potent and sobering, United 93 is even more gut-wrenching because the outcome is already known. While difficult to watch, director Paul Greengrass' film has been made with skill and treats the subject matter with respect, never resorting to the aggrandizement of which Hollywood has sometimes been accused. Especially effective is the cast of mostly unknown actors, who portray the passengers of the doomed flight as ordinary people who respond with bravery to extraordinary circumstances.

audience

77

liked it
Average Rating: 3.6/5
User Ratings: 122,832

My Rating

Movie Info

Bloody Sunday director Paul Greengrass marks the five-year anniversary on the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the United States with this speculative meditation on the events that took place onboard the fourth hijacked plane, and the actions of the passengers who gave their lives to ensure the safety of others. Told in real time and acted out by a cast of unknowns who were provided with detailed studies of their real-life counterparts, United 93 attempts to reconstruct the airborne

R, 1 hr. 51 min.

Drama, Action & Adventure

Paul Greengrass

Sep 5, 2006

$31.5M

Universal Pictures

United 93 Trailer & Photos

More Photos (29)
More Trailers and Videos (1)

Cast

Critic Reviews for United 93

All Critics (208) | Top Critics (43) | Fresh (188) | Rotten (19) | DVD (32)

Greengrass takes pains to keep events believable and relatively unrhetorical, rejecting entertainment for the sake of sober reflection, though one has to ask how edifying this is apart from its reduction of the standard myths.

December 26, 2006 Full Review Source: Chicago Reader | Comments (3)
Jonathan Rosenbaum
Chicago Reader
Top Critic IconTop Critic

This limitation in source material has had a peculiar effect on the script. Never is there a moment of repulsive sentimentality or exploitation, but neither is Greengrass able to realize an ultimate purpose.

May 12, 2006 Full Review Source: New Republic | Comment
Stanley Kauffmann
New Republic
Top Critic IconTop Critic

Even the undeniable heroism of the passengers on United 93 doesn't edify as it should.

May 3, 2006 Full Review Source: New York Observer | Comment
Andrew Sarris
New York Observer
Top Critic IconTop Critic

... this is a picture we all must see.

April 28, 2006 Full Review Source: Toronto Star | Comment
Peter Howell
Toronto Star
Top Critic IconTop Critic

... left me feeling curiously unmoved and even slightly resentful.

April 28, 2006 Full Review Source: Slate | Comments (2)
Dana Stevens
Slate
Top Critic IconTop Critic

... a powerful and thoughtful dramatization of the terrorist crash of United Flight 93 ...

April 28, 2006 Full Review Source: San Francisco Chronicle | Comment
Mick LaSalle
San Francisco Chronicle
Top Critic IconTop Critic

A black hole

August 30, 2009 Full Review Source: CinePassion | Comments (8)
Fernando F. Croce
CinePassion

Story of 9/11 hijacking: harrowing, not for kids.

July 16, 2008 Full Review Source: Common Sense Media | Comment
Cynthia Fuchs
Common Sense Media

This is not a film you go to for enjoyment, but because you have a duty to endure it.

February 28, 2008 Full Review Source: BrandonFibbs.com | Comment
Brandon Fibbs
BrandonFibbs.com

a real-time reconstruction of events on the doomed flight that manages to encapsulate all the anxieties and sorrows of our age.

August 10, 2007 Full Review Source: Eye for Film | Comment
Anton Bitel
Eye for Film

I can say that United 93 has been done well -- with intelligence, compassion, efficiency -- and yet still question whether it was worth doing.

July 25, 2007 Full Review Source: eFilmCritic.com | Comment
Rob Gonsalves
eFilmCritic.com

A supreme achievement.

March 1, 2007 Full Review Source: Film Journal International | Comment
Doris Toumarkine
Film Journal International

Amazingly detailed in its narrative cohesion and editing, United 93 is a noble tribute to the tragedy of 9/11.

February 7, 2007 Full Review Source: Oscar Guy | Comment
Wesley Lovell
Oscar Guy

Greengrass recreates the attacks on the World Trade Center utilizing existing news footage and it still retains the horror of that day. Despite knowing the ultimate outcome of this film, UNITED 93 is a harrowing and important film.

January 12, 2007 Full Review Source: Murphy's Movie Reviews | Comment
Ted Murphy
Murphy's Movie Reviews

Cinema verite at its very best!

January 4, 2007 Full Review Source: AALBC.com | Comment
Kam Williams
AALBC.com Source: AALBC.com

Cinema verite at its very best!

January 4, 2007 Full Review Source: Mount Desert Islander | Comment
Kam Williams
Mount Desert Islander

Unlike 'World Trade Center,' this harrowing chronicle has scarcely a hint of Hollywood. ...'United 93'... thrusts itself into the heart of the action, whether you're ready to go there or not.

December 28, 2006 Full Review Source: Kalamazoo Gazette | Comment
James Sanford
Kalamazoo Gazette
More Critic Reviews

Audience Reviews for United 93

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Strong and powerful, the film pays a strong tribute to those on 9/11.

January 25, 2012
paul o.
paul oh

Super Reviewer

Sad, sad, sad, and sad because these events really happened on one of the most terrifying days in American history. I love films that grab a hold of your mind and make you forget that you are watching a film, making you feel as if you are really there. United 93 does that with unknown actors and a small setting (a

October 26, 2011
Eric Alvarez
Eric Alvarez

Super Reviewer

United 93 Quotes

View All

    1. Todd Beamer: I got it, it's a fake!
    – Submitted by Kerby H (6 months ago)

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Latest News for United 93

June 6, 2011:
Paul Greengrass Eyes Potential Projects
Choices include a racing drama and Tom Hanks' pirate thriller, "Maersk Alabama."

January 10, 2008:
Amy Ryan and Greg Kinnear Join Paul Greengrass and Matt Damon in the Green Zone
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