Posted by
Emmett of the Unblinking Eye on Monday, September 11, 2006 12:45:19 PM
The first half of "the Path to 9/11" is now in, and if ABC caved to the critics, it was not patently obvious on the screening. The only clear change was the addition of a mostly-meaningless disclaimer at the beginning, explaining that it was, in fact, a movie, not a documentary; that it was derived from a number of sources, including, but not limited to, the official 9/11 report; and that it's a movie, for heaven's sake.
With that said, and even though the content was important and, at times, absorbing, it was not a great or even memorable movie. Although some may adore the modern film traits of extreme closeups and 1 second cuts, I don't. But what it did do is emphasize that those that we are at war with take this battle very seriously, that they are very determined and scary adversaries, and if we don't take them seriously -- if we treat it as a "police action" and indict those who are out to kill us -- we are in for equally serious trouble.
More tomorrow.