History Film / United93

* HateSink: With the ''possible'' exception of Jarrah, ''[[AlwaysChaoticEvil all]]'' the [[MiddleEasternTerrorists hijackers]] are this [[PoliticallyIncorrectVillain for]] ''[[HeManWomanHater very]]'' [[TakeOverTheWorld obvious]] [[DespotismJustifiesTheMeans reasons.]]

* ForWantOfANail: The hijacking of Flight 93 has several differences from the other three plots. The plane took off 40 minutes late due to congested runways, Ziad Jarrah didn't begin the actual hijacking until nearly an hour into the flight, and there were only three "muscle" hijackers instead of four. Had any or all of these factors not happened, the passenger revolt would have likely been unsuccessful.

* HateSink: With the ''possible'' exception of Jarrah, ''all'' the [[MiddleEasternTerrorists hijackers]] are this [[PoliticallyIncorrectVillain for]] ''[[HeManWomanHater very]]'' [[TakeOverTheWorld obvious]] [[DespotismJustifiesTheMeans reasons.]]

->”September 11, 2001\\
Four airplanes were hijacked\\
Three of them reached their target\\
This is the story of the fourth”

* SimultaneousArcs: United 93 takes off just as the hijacking of United 175 begins.
* StockFootage: A number of actual news reports are used in the film, most notably when the South Tower is hit. The control tower sees Flight 175 coming in towards Manhattan, following the plane for a few seconds, and then it cuts to the broadcast that showed the impact live.

->''"This is a suicide mission. They are not going to land this plane. They are not going to take us back to the airport. We have to do something. I don't think we have much of a choice.."''

-->-- '''Todd Beamer'''

* RealTime: The entire film plays out in this way for the most part, albeit the plane spends a slightly longer amount of time in the air during the film than it did in real life. The actual plane was in the air for approximately one hour and 21 minutes before it crashed; this movie is exactly half an hour longer than that, at one hour and 51 minutes, though it's about fifteen minutes before the plane actually takes off on-film.

* SmallRoleBigImpact: One of the flight stewardesses Sandra Bradshaw while helping a colleague deal with a mortally wounded passenger notices the pilots have been killed after seeing Saeed al Ghamdi and Ahmed al Nami carry a body of one of the pilots. It was thanks to her the victims realised the plane is being flown by terrorists.

* DramaticIrony: The passengers all have a HopeSpot in the fact that two of the men in their group have flight experience. Of course, the audience already knows that everyone on board is going to die, due to the film being BasedOnATrueStory where there were no survivors.

* RealTime: The entire film plays out in this way for the most part, albeit the plane spends a slightly longer amount of time in the air during the film than it did in real life. The actual plane was in the air for approximately one hour and 21 minutes before it crashed; this movie is exactly half an hour longer than that, at one hour and 51 minutes.

* {{Foreshadowing}}: After taking off from Newark Liberty International Airport, the plane passes by Lower Manhattan, with one of the hijackers looking out the window at the Twin Towers. At the time that Flight 93 took off, the North Tower was less than five minutes away from being hit.[[note]]This was also the same time the hijacking of Flight 175 started.

* TakingYouWithMe: The passengers on the plane eventually become aware of what's happened in NC and Washington, DC, and that they are more than likely going to die on this flight. As a result, they go down swinging by [[ZergRush all rushing the terrorists at once and overwhelming them with sheer numbers]].

* ZergRush: The passengers' strategy at the end of the movie is to rush the cockpit all at once, with the mentality that [[TakingYouWithMe if they're all going to die anyways, they may as well go down swinging]]. This strategy effectively works, as the overwhelmed terrorists can't stop the rush of passengers from reaching the cockpit. By the time the passengers breach the cockpit's door, the terrorists are in a full-on VillainousBreakdown when they realize that the situation is now effectly hopeless. The best they can do is hold onto the controls as tight as they can, resulting in the plane crashing into a field when this in-fighting causes the plane to lose control.

* SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome: Ziad Jarrah, the hijacker flying the plane, almost crashes the plane by accident a few times. At one point, he attempts to make an announcement over the intercom informing the passengers that the plane has been hijacked, but hits the wrong button and [[HoistByHisOwnPetard tells flight control about the situation instead]].[[note]]This was actually an error that the other hijackers made as well due to not understanding the process in making a cabin-wide announcement.[[/note]] Also, he starts pouring sweat not long after taking control of the plane, further emphasizing that this was his first time flying a commercial airplane. In real life, he had flown smaller planes as part of his training, and later flight simulations. But just because he could have flown smaller planes doesn't mean he can fly a full-sized airliner, as he finds out the hard way.

* PrayerIsALastResort: Todd Beamer recites the Lord's Prayer and the 23rd Psalm with GTE airphone supervisor Lisa Jefferson before they storm the cockpit. A few other passengers join in, too.

* PreSacrificeFinalGoodbye: Several of the passengers and crew call their loved ones from the plane before the revolt to give their goodbyes in the event they don't make it. In Todd Beamer's case, he's only able to call an airphone operator, Lisa Jefferson, but has her promise him that she'll give his love to his wife and sons if he doesn't survive.

* SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome: It's pretty clear from the start that Ziad Jarrah, the hijacker flying the plane, is inexperienced and doesn't really know what he's doing. There are several times in the movie when he almost crashed the plane prematurely by accident. At one point in the movie, he attempts to make an announcement over the intercom informing the passengers that the plane has been hijacked, only he hits the wrong button and [[HoistByHisOwnPetard inadvertently tips off flight control about the situation instead]].[[note]]This was actually an error that the other hijackers made as well due to not understanding the process in making a cabin-wide announcement.[[/note]] Also worth noting is the fact that he starts pouring sweat not long after taking control of the plane, further emphasizing that this was his first time flying a commercial airplane (though in real life he had flown smaller planes as part of his training, and later flight simulations).
* ThisIsGonnaSuck: The passengers are well aware that their chances of survival are slim, even with an experienced pilot and retired air-traffic controller among them. Also as the ground gets closer and closer in the end, it symbolises everyone is not going to make it out alive.

* VillainousBreakdown: After several minutes of mounting tension, the terrorists realize that they're stuck in an enclosed space with people who know about the World Trade Center/Pentagon attacks, and now have nothing to lose. They completely freak out when the enraged passengers storm to the front of the plane, and start beating each of them to try and regain the plane.

* ZergRush: The passengers' strategy at the end of the movie is to rush the cockpit all at once, with the mentality that [[TakingYouWithMe if they're all going to die anyways, they may as well go down swinging]]. This strategy effectively works, as the overwhelmed terrorists can't stop the rush of passengers from reaching the cockpit, resulting in the plane crashing into a field instead when control of the plane is lost.

* PreAssKickingOneLiner: [[SubvertedTrope Subverted]]: Todd Beamer's famous utterance of "let's roll" was treated as an anxious throw-away line.

* AbortedArc: It's an intentional choice, but once things get going on the titular flight, all the plot relating to air traffic controllers and the military go out the window. The only thing that gets revealed at the end, after the SmashToBlack, is that the nearest fighter jet was a hundred miles away from this plane, and
* ArtisticLicenseHistory: Zigzagged. The film shows all the passengers making it to the cockpit with a ZergRush and trying to retake control of the plane. While this really happened on the actual United 93 flight, it's disputed whether the passengers managed to breach the cockpit or not in real life, and it's ultimately something that history will never know for sure. The 9/11 Commission concluded that the passengers did not breach the cockpit, the families of the victims believe they did, and independent studies of the flight recording suggest the possibility of at least one passenger breaching the cockpit and fighting for control of the yoke.

* AbortedArc: It's an intentional choice, but once things get going on the titular flight, all the plot relating to air traffic controllers and the military go out the window, never to be brought up again.
* ArtisticLicense: It is disputed whether the passengers managed to breach the cockpit: the 9/11 Commission concluding they did not, the families of the victims believing they did, and independent studies of the flight recording suggesting the possibility of at least one passenger breaching the cockpit and fighting for control of the yoke. The film shows all the revolting passengers making it to the cockpit and trying to retake control of the plane.

* BittersweetEnding: Heavily bitter, given that three of the attacks succeed as planned and completely demolish the World Trade Center while seriously damaging the Pentagon, preceding [[UsefulNotes/TheWarOnTerror one of the most prolonged international conflicts in America's history]]. However, there's something of a silver lining in the tragedy, as though everyone on the fourth plane dies, their sacrifice prevents the terrorists from hitting their intended target of the United States Capitol, saving hundreds of lives.

* ClosestThingWeGot: As the passengers plan their revolt, they ask if anyone can fly a plane. One of them says he can, but is only trained on single-engine planes. Another passenger says he is a retired air traffic controller and will be able to help him land.
* ClusterFBomb: Triggered by two military aircraft being launched in the completely wrong direction.
* DeathOfAChild: Though there were no children onboard United 93 Laura Grandcolas was three months pregnant during the film and in a double heartbreak her unborn baby dies along with her after everyone gets killed at the end of the film. And even if the plane didn't crash it is very likely Laura Grandcolas would have had a miscarriage from all the chaos and the plane jerking violently. Also there were children aboard Flight 175 and 77 with the youngest victim being only two years old.

* FogOfWar: Confusion is the only constant in the movie. In an impressive feat of filmmaking, the narrative throughout the film remains coherent.

* HeroicSacrifice: The passengers know what they have to do to save Washington, D.C. from a group of terrorists, and they know that the chances of saving themselves is slim. But they don't care, because [[TakingYouWithMe they're bringing the terrorists with them]]. Indeed, when the flight goes down in Pennsylvania, there's a SmashToBlack along with a card that says [[EverybodyDiesEnding the crash had no survivors]].
* HopeSpot: More for the characters than the audience -- when the passengers realize that two men among them actually have flight experience, it really looks like they might have a chance of safely landing the plane.

* MenAreTheExpendableGender: Averted, since one of the flight assistants is brutally killed. And it goes without saying that all of the women on the plane die, alongside all of the men.

* RealTime: The entire film plays out in this way for the most part, albeit the plane spends a slightly longer amount of time in the air during the film than it did in real life. The actual plane was in the air for approximately one hour and 21 minutes; this movie is exactly half an hour longer than that, at one hour and 51 minutes.
* RealityHasNoSubtitles: Although there are subtitles at first for the Arabic dialogue, they only apply to some of the scenes, with the scenes of terrorist violence usually lacking them. They're barely present during the revolt scene.

* ShownTheirWork: All the inaccuracies of 9/11 were accurately portrayed. Rather than stripping down the confusion to make things easier for an audience to follow, all of the misinformed fragments are out there, just as it was in real life due to how rapidly things were unfolding. Different groups referred to the wrong planes by the wrong numbers. There were differing reports on how many planes were out there. After American Airlines Flight 77's impact with the Pentagon, the news reported a fire on the National Mall when there was none.

* DyingMomentOfAwesome: The passengers fighting back. While they don't save themselves, they end up saving lives at the Capitol.
* {{Eagleland}}: The film undoubtedly shows that Americans WILL fight back against aggressors if given the chance.
* EverybodyDiesEnding: Being BasedOnATrueStory involving a plane crash that had no survivors, nobody got off of ''United 93'' once it was in the air. While the plane is shown descending straight for the ground, there's a SmashToBlack before impact. Instead, there's an ending card that says that nobody got out of the crash alive.

* ForegoneConclusion: Everyone aboard United Airlines Flight 93 is going to die -- but its intended target will be spared.

** Averting the destruction of the Capitol Building is the goal of the protagonists. Though they are unable to take back control of the plane, it instead crashes into an empty field.

** It prevents any specific character from becoming singled out as a hero. The film keeps Todd Beamer's famous "let's roll" line subtle, and it's hard to even tell which character is Todd Beamer until he says it.

* OhCrap: The beginning of the terrorist's VillainousBreakdown as they start losing control of the passengers.
* PlayingTheHeartStrings: As the Pennsylvania field rushes up towards the cockpit window, the sounds fade away to a single string chord at the moment of impact.

* RealTime: The entire film plays out in this way for the most part, albeit the plane spends a slightly ''longer'' amount of time in the air during the film than it did in real life. The actual plane was in the air for approximately one hour and 21 minutes.

* RealityIsUnrealistic: Though he is the lead hijacker and pilot, deep down, Ziad Jarrah is frightened to go along with the plan. He clearly hesitates to give the sign and his fellow terrorists who are impatient go ahead anyway. Like in real life Ziad phones his girlfriend one final time implying he had no other choice but to hijack the plane as he made an oath.

* StormingTheCastle: The cockpit door eventually gets broken down by civilians.

* EverybodyDiesEnding: Being BasedOnATrueStory involving a plane crash that had no survivors, nobody got off of ''United 93'' alive.
* FirstDayFromHell: Ben Sliney was literally just starting his first day at his new position.

* HeroicSacrifice: The passengers know what they have to do to save Washington, D.C. from a group of terrorists and they know that the chances of saving themselves is slim, but they don't care because [[TakingYouWithMe they're bringing the terrorists with them]].

* VillainousBreakdown: After several minutes of mounting tension, the terrorists finally seem to realize that they are stuck in an enclosed space with 40+ people who know about the World Trade Center/Pentagon attacks and now have nothing to lose. They completely freak out when the enraged passengers storm to the front of the plane and start beating each of them to death.

* ZergRush: The passengers' strategy.

** Both of the World Trade Center's towers are hit with passenger airplanes, with archive footage of the second crash included in the film. However, the collapse of both towers is not shown. The South Tower's collapse actually happens during the revolt, with Flight 93's crash happening 4 minutes later and the North Tower's collapse 25 minutes after that; however, by the time that the first collapse happens, the film stops focusing on what happened on the ground in favor of following the story of the passengers as they revolt against the hijackers.

** Both of the World Trade Center's towers are hit with passenger airplanes, with archive footage of the second crash included in the film. However, the collapse of both towers is not shown. The South Tower's collapse actually happens during the revolt, with Flight 93's crash happening 4 minutes later, a full 25 minutes before the North Tower collapses; however, by the time that the first collapse happens, the film stops focusing on what happened on the ground in favor of following the story of the passengers as they revolt against the hijackers.

** Both of the World Trade Center's towers are hit with passenger airplanes, with archive footage of the second crash included in the film. However, the collapse of both towers is not shown.[[note]]The South Tower's collapse actually happens during the revolt, with Flight 93's crash happening 4 minutes later, a full 25 minutes before the North Tower collapses; however, by the time that the first collapse happens, the film stops focusing on what happened on the ground in favor of following the story of the passengers as they revolt against the hijackers.[[/note]]