When “United 93” came out, there was a huge backlash from people arguing that it was too soon to make a film about 9/11. I understood that point of view, but disagreed (especially since much of the proceeds from the film went to the victims’ families).

However, I did believe strongly the movie had to be respectful, both of the event and to the audience — it should not be exploitative or manipulative. A film about 9/11 does not need to be re-edited to look like an Edward Zwick movie, with every intense sequence in slow-motion and every emotional scene shot with sad and somber music. The audience is not stupid. We know it’s going to be sad. We all remember that day. It doesn’t need to be laid on us any thicker.

“United 93” succeeded in not being overly sentimental. “World Trade Center” does not. And yet, it isn’t a bad film. I just want more.

The movie follows Sergeant John McLoughlin (Nicolas Cage) and Officer Will Jimeno (Michael Pena), from the moment they wake up that Tuesday morning. Director Oliver Stone wastes little time getting them to the WTC, but does take time to show how the crew’s confusion over which tower to climb results in them still standing in the lobby when the south tower starts to collapse. McLoughlin and Jimeno survive the collapse, barely, but are trapped under 30 feet of debris and unable to move. This all happens within the first 20 minutes, so the rest of the film is them waiting to be rescued. Stone cuts back and forth between McLoughlin and Jimeno fighting immense pain, dehydration and the desire to sleep, and to their wives Donna McLoughlin (Maria Bello) and Allison Jimeno (Maggie Gyllenhaal) watching the television and waiting by the phone with their families.

Of the four main characters, Pena — the locksmith who gives his daughter the “impenetrable cloak” in the film “Crash” ­— gives the best performance. For a role that requires him to lay under a giant slab of cement for 80 percent of the movie, he does the best with what he’s given. Also, the special effects are outstanding. When the south tower collapses, we experience it from inside the building. It looks realistic and terrifying.

The major gripe, outside of its hokey sentimentality, is its misleading title. If they wanted to call the movie “World Trade Center,” then make the movie about what happened to the World Trade Center. If the movie is about the survival and recovery of two port authority police officers, then call it something else. It would be like “Saving Private Ryan” being called “World War II”, “Apocalypse Now” entitled “Vietnam” or “Schindler’s List” labeled “The Holocaust”. It just doesn’t seem right. The movie doesn’t show what happened to the buildings, why it happened or who was responsible. It uses the WTC as a circumstantial backdrop to the story — a major injustice.

The filmmakers chose a title they knew would sell tickets. And they succeeded. But I feel duped.