Utahns find 9/11 film very moving

For some, the film revived horrifying memories of the recent past. A few sobbed quietly in their seats when the lights came on. One or two others seemed unmoved.

The movie is "United 93," the realistic story of the passengers who fought back after their plane was among four hijacked on Sept. 11, 2001. The film opened at several Salt Lake theaters and nationwide on Friday. It debuted in second place at the box office with $11.6 million in ticket sales over the weekend, according to box-office tracker Exhibitor Relations Co.

Scheduled to fly from Newark, N.J., to San Francisco, United 93 was taken over by terrorists with knives and a fake bomb. During the hijacking, the pilot, co-pilot and others were murdered.

Learning by cell phone of the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, passengers realized that United 93 was on a suicide flight. They could not know the goal, but it was to slam the plane into the Capitol.

Their one chance was resistance, and they organized an attack on the armed terrorists. They stormed the cockpit and, according to the film, nearly succeeded in wresting control of the plane from the hijackers. However, the aircraft was sent into a dive, crashing into a Pennsylvania field.

Besides events inside the plane, the R-rated movie depicts confusion and mistakes as aviation and military officials tried to come to grips with the attacks.

"It brought up a lot of memories," said Teresa Thomson, Salt Lake City, following an early Sunday afternoon showing at Century 16 Theaters, 125 E. 3300 South. The film was so powerful that she began to cry at the end.

Back in 2001, she watched on TV as the World Trade Center towers collapsed. She was fearful about relatives in different parts of the country, she said. "It was just a terrible day."

Asked whether she thought the film has came too soon, she said no, people needed to be reminded of those shocking events.

"We were under attack," as America had not been since Pearl Harbor, she said.

Another important aspect was the film showed how average Americans, facing such overwhelming odds as the passengers did on the flight, "have the courage to take matters into their own hands, so that others may live."

Her husband, Robert Thomson, said watching the film was an "extremely emotional" experience. "Yeah, it was hard to watch, but very interesting," he said. He added he "couldn't sit still."

Sara Allen, the couple's teenage daughter, exclaimed, "Oh! I remember that when I was elementary school." The events of that day "made me want to go after the terrorists."

What did she think of the film? "Oh, it was good."

Ken Duquette, Salt Lake City, said, "I thought it was pretty moving." He did not believe the film was made too soon after 9/11.