There are a few things that I, as a viewer, demand when going to see a movie. Depending on the genre, these things change. When I go to a comedy, I expect to laugh. When I go to a horror, I expect to jump. When I go to drama, I want to feel something. Beyond these reactions however, and possibly most importantly, there are certain responses that I expect NOT to have. I don't want to be scared at a comedy, feel uplifted by a rendition of Romeo and Juliet, or cry during dumb and dumber. In this same vein, I do not want to burst out laughing during a movie commemorating 9/11, and unfortunately I did.

The movie was a decent portrayal of the struggles and pains of those working in emergency positions on the gound during 9/11. It angered the viewer, made the viewer sad, compasionate, but at one point it made me and my brother burst out laughing. As the two main characters lay buried in rubble, one loses consciousness. Where before, this resluted in them having flashbacks to their lives, this particular trip into lala land resulted in the screen turning an electrifying light, before a huge, stereotypical, JESUS with all the bells and whistles emerged on the screen. He was glowing, and beckoning the man, and frankly, it was the most rediculous looking thing I have ever seen. It seemed like something you would see on a SNL parody, or maybe in the movie ghost, but it wasn't in those movies, it was in a movie about the 9/11 attacks. A movie predicated on a disaster based in large part on religion, took a few moments to throw Jesus into the picture.

I am normally a fan of Oliver Stone, his JFK interpretation was very impressive and bold, but this movie fell short that film's originality and bravery. When the filmmaker needs to pull an age old trick like the main character walking towards the light, it says a lot about a movie that could and should have been more.