Movie Review

Film Review: Severe Visibility

Severe Visibility is film about the terrorist attack on the Pentagon during 9/11 and the investigation into that attack afterward. At the center of that investigation and this film is Stanley Kruter (Paul Cross), a United States Army Major with the accounting branch of the Pentagon. Since Major Kruter was present in the Pentagon the day of the attack, he is naturally called into give testimony about what he saw that day. Major Kruter says he saw a plane fly past his window into the building but from the constant flash backs throughout the film, the viewer immediately knows the truth of the matter. “It would have been impossible for me not to have seen it” is the Major’s constant assertion when asked if he actually saw the plane hit the Pentagon. Soon Major Kruter is questioning the validity of his memories and why he is saying what he is saying. Andrew Porter (Dennis Kleinman), a journalist investigating the American Airlines 757’s crash, begins asking the exact same things of Major Kruter. At first Major Kruter is resistant, he loves his country deeply, but the questions and hypothesized answers become more and more credible to him when seen in light of the dubious official version.

The core of Severe Visibility is Major Kruter and the way his mind works. It is that and the tidbits of information about the crash before, during and after it that are the most interesting aspects of this film. Since Major Kruter is a solitary individual, he keeps to himself and frequently writes in a journal, recording his thoughts, hopes and doubts there. In his journal, Major Kruter writes to an individual who helped define our nation and through his words, helped mold it into what it is today. Though it is strange that Major Kruter writes his journal entries to “Thomas”, it is not out of place that a patriot and soldier holds this person in such high esteem.

Where Severe Visibility becomes the most entertaining, so much so that the viewer looks past the constraints that this small budget film had to contend with is the alternate theory for the events at the Pentagon on 9/11. Each official point is counter balanced by an alternate. Their validity, however, is not something most people will be able to confirm or deny since they don’t have access to military records or hardware. This is why writer/director Paul Cross does some of the heavy lifting for the viewer in that regard, helping to legitimize reporter Porter’s claims for the alternate chain of events at the Pentagon during 9/11.

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Severe Visibility doesn’t have the polish, spit and shine of other 9/11 movies (World Trade Center, Flight 51) but it does make you think more than the aforementioned films. It raises questions about the duplicity of the Unites States Government, the aircraft that was used in the attack on the Pentagon on 9/11 and other possible motives for the attack on that government building. Severe Visibility makes the viewer question, as any decent conspiracy film should.

Rating: 6/10

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Rollo Tomasi

Rollo Tomasi is a Connecticut-based film critic, TV show critic, news, and editorial writer. He will have a MFA in Creative Writing from Columbia University in 2025. Rollo has written over 700 film, TV show, short film, Blu-ray, and 4K-Ultra reviews. His reviews are published in IMDb's External Reviews and in Google News. Previously you could find his work at Empire Movies, Blogcritics, and AltFilmGuide. Now you can find his work at FilmBook.
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