"Ladder 49"

Starring Joaquin Phoenix, John Travolta, Jacinda Barrett, Morris Chestnut, Balthazar Getty, Billy Burke, Jay Hernandez and Robert Patrick. Directed by Jay Russell. (2004, Touchstone/Beacon)

"Ladder 49" really tries to hit all the right buttons - its earnest and emotionally involving, but it's also tediously paced and badly directed. First thing to take into consideration: this isn't a fire action movie, it's a firefighter drama. It's not 'Backdraft', it's not even an episode of 'Third Watch', and it's a story about praising one of the hardest professions in the world - the undervalued firefighter. Post-September 11, it's a surprise this hasn't been explored and they too deserve their own praise, but its hard not to think Russell or someone is just a little preoccupied with glorifying the profession instead of making a movie.

The premise is one of the weaker links: it's about a firefighter Jack Morrison (Joaquin Phoenix) stuck in a raging firestorm who evaluates his life as his rescue team tries frantically to save him. As the story pans out, the film follows his greatest memories which mostly include his life as a brave firefighter working at a local Baltimore station. This includes the obvious clichés such as falling in love with a local girl (Jacinda Barrett), the unexpected death of a colleague and many, many ravishing fires and moments of heroic rescues. Will Jack be rescued? Does he survive the fire? That's not really the story - it's about his great life as a firefighter, a reflection and celebration of his achievements and how proud he is of his career choice. Strange, but despite having a beautiful wife and family, he only has small glimpses of remembrance despite his perilled state; and all of these scenes involve his life as a firefighter in some capacity. Come on, even his boss Captain Mike Kennedy (John Travolta) is his son's godparent. Quite simply, this guy is ready to die because he was such a great firefighter, yes it's that preachy.

The screenplay is one of the film's real problems - it's riddled with clichés and inconsistencies and the director fails to rectify this in the direction or editing. The film swifts his life very quickly, but becomes clogged in unnecessary arcs. How come none of these characters age despite the film panning 10 years? What's the need to introduce characters such as the latest rookie at the station if they won't be seen again? What's the deal with the grumpy co-worker (Robert Patrick)? If the screenplay is a problem, the direction and particularly editing is even worse. Quite simply, director Jay Russell struggles with a big-scale project like this. It's too obviously paced, the death of one of the fire-fighters is so obvious from the editing and for a movie about fire, he doesn't really use it effectively. It's secondary to this story. Still, Russell knows how to use emotive tactics to make the film work in that regard - the use of a close-knit Baltimore setting creates a vibe that helps understand these characters and their simple, but cherished lives. The story would have benefited stronger from using Jack's family more rather than find ways for other characters to be put in danger. Russell may be able to direct a movie, but he was a little out of his depth with a big movie like this. The ending too has guts, but then it is ruined by a terribly clichéd monologue and a montage ending that looks like a video clip gone wrong for a song.

On the acting front, Joaquin Phoenix continues to impress with a role that is hard for him to take too seriously. It's a true testament to an actor to come out of a weak movie without being scarred but with this and even more abysmal 'The Village', he delivered two solid performances. It was hard to take John Travolta in a supporting role because he is so used to hogging the scenery, but he does well here in a quiet, understated role. The rest of the cast are victims of badly-written roles (Morris Chestnut, Robert Patrick, and Jacinda Barrett) or characters that have nothing to do (Balthazar Getty, Jay Hernandez). None of these actors can blame themselves, they didn't have a part to begin with.

It comes as a surprise that this is the first movie about fire-fighters since 1991's 'Backdraft'. That Ron Howard film still holds up incredibly well today. It used fire as a plot and it used it effectively. 'Ladder 49' uses fire as an afterthought, a villain that is used for our characters to be placed in danger or to kill one off so we can have an elaborate funeral. It is trying to paint us a picture of a life as a fire-fighter and their heroism and bravery, but there's more to their profession and it's hard to think that if someone is about to die, all they will think about is their first day as a rookie fire-fighter instead of their own wife and kids. Russell may love fire-fighters, but he was better served making a recruitment video for the fire-association rather than ruin an opportunity to make a great movie.


out of ten

Reviewed by Chris Cappola

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