This movie could not have been made after september the eleventh 2001...
For many,this would have been an introduction to the concept of "Islamiic fundamentalism" and the suicide bomber.
Even granted the truck bomb at the Trade centre (1993?),it would still seem a wild juxtaposition,to jump from an ambush in the desert,somewhere in the Middle-East,to the streets of Manhatten...
Viewing this again recently,i was struck by the contrasting scale of reality versus fiction.
Usually the movies run away with things,but in this case the catastrophic horror of 9/11, it's consequences and the reaction of the USA and Britain just dwarf the fiction on offer...
Well explored are the "civil liberties" issues...things do not go up to Presidential level,and New York deals with things locally by bringing in the Military.Cue testosterone showdown between Denzel and Bruce. The "internment" of all young Moslems in New York ,an idea that they have taken six seasons of "24" to get around to flirting with,(i havn't seen it all yet) is the one step that outdoes reality,playing with our emotions ,as a central character is involved,the great Tony Shalhoub...
In the movies ,a maverick "rule bender" like Denzel cuts through the departmental crap.
What is still precient ,and forms the backbone of the film,and,of course the "love interest" is what we now know to be an accurate portrayal of the way the FBI, CIA and Police are all very seperate bodies .
Their vested interests,poor communication and lack of shared intelligence,are explored here,and we know those shortcomings to be significant in failing to see 9/11 coming.