9/11

Not the out-and-out disaster it looked to be, this well-meaning 9/11 drama is instead overwrought and acerbic and doesn't really make the connection between its fictional situation and the real one. Using the title 9/11 is part of the problem, as that suggests a bigger-picture story than we actually get. Writer Patrick Carson also used the story for a play, entitled Elevator, which was performed in 2011; perhaps it would have been better left in that format. Director Martin Guigu's attempts to expand the story with real-life footage of the attacks is honorable but misguided.

As good as some of these actors are, the way they rush into "deeply meaningful" conversation is somewhat absurd, even though their dialogue is balanced by the occasional ordinary chit-chat. Co-producer/top-billed star Charlie Sheen tries to steal scenes from time to time, and his efforts don't add much to the whole. Some controversy arose over his casting, given his past "truther" remarks -- although, to be fair, in a more recent interview in the Hollywood Reporter, he has apologized. Bottom line? We should never forget 9/11, but it might be a good idea to forget this movie.