I was waiting for a public service announcement at the end saying, "Terrorists- they are not bad people, just mis-informed". Ugh. You know, I am a well educated person; I am in no way "close-minded". Don't serve me a platter full of dung and tell me it is actually desert. I don't like it when writers and/or directors pull the emo trip on their audience, especially with this particular subject. Hitler was a bad guy, I don't see any films about him being mis-understood.These terrorists (and don't forget to call them what they were) were not mis-informed. Nor was this something that they did out of panic, instinct, or defense. This was one of the most well planned, and yes, thought out, murders in history. There's more blame insinuated on the American leaders then the terrorist (who are indeed made out to be martyrs). For a film maker to put out such a piece of propaganda, in hopes to make people understand what these poor mis-guided people had to go through, reminds me of why I own a DVD player- I don't have to worry about crap like this coming through my video monitor.On a technical level this film worked. In fact, if this tragedy had not happened, and this was just a story it probably wouldn't have bothered me as much. But I know the reality of this, and unfortunately there are people who are actually forgetting the truth and reality behind it. Film can do that. Which, is why i'll stick to my own viewing collection. What's on tonight's list...I think i'll watch "Cannibal Holocaust"...

I saw this movie back in Dubai last year during its premiere in the Dubai International Film Festival.The thing I liked most about this movie was the fact that it wasn't biased towards a certain point of view, and even though I believe that you can't have complete objectivity in anything, I think this movie did a superb job in trying to portray the entire process of how those students became suicide bombers, which is something I'm sure people wonder about nowadays, especially in the west. At the same time, it also shows the intelligence mishaps that were played out by the US government before 9/11.What I found amusing was that the entire Arab audience that watched the movie was angry and started singing their song..."it shows all Arabs as terrorists...etc" whereas half of the other audience (non-Arabs) didn't feel it was like that at all, and naturally the entire audience ignored the actors and the producers during the Q and A session and started arguing amongst each other. Which basically shows how controversial this movie is and why it hasn't really been released yet. A shame really. I think the American audience (and the rest of the world) could use a little more light on the incident.In conclusion, I hope it can be released soon so I can own it on DVD asap. It's definitely worth watching again and again.

I just saw this movie on cable TV here in Australia and really liked it. It actually gave me goose bumps as it was really eerie. The actors were wonderful and the writing is exemplary as it really gave the story a human face without sympathizing with the act of terrorism. It showed how strange it is in this day and age that grown men can be so brainwashed into thinking that once they commit such a terrible act against humanity that they are going up into Paradise where Virgins are waiting for them. Nowhere in the Koran or the Modern Muslim world would this be accepted. THese terrorists had minds of their own and in no way would be supported by a rational Muslim society. I thought to myself while watching this movie, the Holy Prophet Mohammed would have been disgusted with this act if he were watching from above. The Prophet Mohammed was such a humanitarian that he would not have supported this kind of terrorism in any way.I hope this movie has shown people the effect of brainwashing and what it can lead to - Just like the David Koresh's of the world or the other Cult leader who had his whole cult commit mass suicide - Brainwashing is the worst thing that can happen to someone. So please let these kinds of movies or acts be a lesson to us all and not let ourselves get caught up in such IGNORANT beliefs and doctrines as to lose our humanity. Peace be upon everyone in the whole world! Now is the time we all need each other - No matter what religion we are!TAKE CARE EVERYONE!

As I began watching this film on HBO, I started to feel uneasy because all the trademarks of a TV Movie-of-the-week began to manifest- boring cinematography, unrefined performances, contrived momentum, etc. However, as the film progressed, I was drawn into certain story angles, and the plight of some of the lead characters became engrossing. Kamel's understated performance as Atta, as well as the two young leads playing husband and wife, kept me interested. The film gradually grinded into thriller territory, and the final moments were admittedly chilling and well-constructed by director Antonia Bird. However, what was most lacking from this film were the PSYCHOLOGICAL motivations of the characters. A story of such grand scope is difficult to tell in detail, as one can assume, but the most important elements driving these characters- the disgust and anger towards American foreign policy- seemed left out of this film. It seemed "hinted at" in certain scenes, but the screenplay never fully explored the burning hatred from the inside. It was still unclear to me why the once-agnostic Lebanese medical student allowed himself to be so easily roped in by the cell's extremist philosophies. Had the screenplay explored this in more detail, this film would be what it should have been- a tragic portrait of manifested hatred among young, misguided Islamic jihadists.