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This movie took an intriguing idea and ran it straight into the ground with a weak script and lousy direction. The clichés are so pervasive that it’s sometimes hard to believe this movie was meant to be taken seriously. The heroic efforts of our firefighters deserve a much better showcase than this crapfest.
After go steady this moving-picture show , I decided to go back and expect at the filmography of Joaquin Phoenix . I wanted to pinpoint the last clock time I thought he toy a role effectively in a movie . As it turned out , the movie wasTo decease For , publish in 1995 . Granted , I have n’t get a line every movie in which he has star since 1995 , but it seems to me that his estimable performance are smaller character that have top - snick director presiding over them . As his Hollywood wizard get ever bigger and his roles increase in size , I do n’t find the calibre of his performances growing with them . If anything , it ’s the opposite . After seeingThe Villagelast twelvemonth , I thought he had make a young low , but deplorably , his performance inLadder 49was even worse .
Even though John Travolta is featured prominently in most of the poster and TV ads for the movie , the vast bulk of it focuses on Jack Morrison ( wreak by Joaquin Phoenix ) . go under in present - twenty-four hour period Baltimore , Maryland , the pic starts out with Jack trying to rescue a dupe from a burning building , when the base collapses under him and he falls into the building . The rest of the flick consists of flashback of Jack ’s life throughout the past 10 yr , intersperse with some scenes in the present prison term where Jack ’s colleagues are attempt to retrieve him and get him out of the building . At first , I liked the idea of doing flashbacks because it could aid the audience really learn who the character are . The job is that director Jay Russell does a dirty problem of marry those scene into the overall story . It seemed like most of the flashback scene were meant to emphasize the bond between the firefighters rather than develop characters , but even those scenes were n’t done very well . How many scenes do we need to see with the firefighters getting drunk in a pub or playing pranks on each other ? Okay , they ’re better buddy pals ; we get it . It ’s knockout to believe this pic was write by Lewis Colick , the same guy who write the screenplay for the excellentOctober Sky .
Ironically , one of the crowing clichés in the moving picture is how Jack meets his soulmate , Linda ( played by Jacinda Barrett ) . He and his undecomposed friend / coworker Dennis ( play by Billy Burke ) meet Linda and a friend of hers in a market store . Okay , quick show of hands . How many people met their significant other in a food market store ? Oh , not so strange ? Well , what if I told you that Jack and Dennis lied to Linda and her supporter about their rank and file in the blast department ? Call me crazy , but if I were trying to meet a complete stranger in a grocery store and she catch me in even a small Trygve Lie , I would think a restraining society would be more realistic than a romantic dinner . But in the very next scene , Jack and Linda are get a romantic dinner . Before you may say " bad movie cliché , " Jack and Linda are married . A little while later , the boy are in a pub , and Linda is with them . Despite the fact that she on a regular basis booze , she refuses a beer that ’s offered to her . Wanna guess why ? And one of the most moan - inducing moments is when all the guys babble along to the Ohio Players song " Fire . " I guess when you ’re a firefighter , anything that does n’t somehow imply fervor — even in your personal life history — is verboten .
When Jack first start out at the fire post , he ’s a wide - eyed , aw - shucks nestling who look on the button the same as he does in the get-go of the movie , even though he ’s purportedly 10 year immature in that setting . apparently , everyone is oblige to treat him like an outsider and give him a hard time as the required knowledgeability into their self - imposed fraternity . When Jack first meets Captain Mike Kennedy ( played by John Travolta ) , the captain is half - asleep and he is not wear out his gasp . ( I ’m pretty sure that would transgress some sorting of fervency department insurance in material life . ) course , Jack " return " the installation and becomes one of the guy wire , but despite all the comradeship , you need at least one jolt among the sweetie - Proto-Indo European for interest of variation . That sad labor falls upon Robert Patrick , who plays Lenny . ( What happened to his vocation anyway ? ) Despite a few roadblocks in the relationship , do Lenny and Jack end up at least honour each other ? You get three guesses .
Oh , but life history is n’t all bubbly and soda cracker for Jack . His life can be really tough . His wife has a hard metre dealing with the fact that he has such a wild job . Several of his coworkers are injured or killed over the twelvemonth , forcing him to wonder if he should be doing something a little less risky . After the flashback sequence are mercifully over and the flick concentrates more on the present - day dilemma of Jack having come down through the floor , thing start to get a little more interesting . The job is that there are only two potential outcomes : Either Jack is active at the end of the movie , or he ’s not . I wo n’t break which one it is , but I will say that the ending feel like it was stamped with a cooky tender . As with the rest period of the film , there is nothing original or even gently groundbreaking about the finish .
Overall , Ladder 49is a disjointed mess , and it ’s hard to figure out what point it ’s trying to make . Is it attempt to say that firefighters are heroes ? Absolutely , but we already knew that . It need to say something more , but it does n’t . Given my tepid reaction to the trailer , I was n’t expecting it to be theCitizen Kaneof fire fighter motion picture , but I was n’t expecting it to be this bad either . I have great respect for our firefighter ; they deserve a high - tone movie that allow audience to see and feel the world of the heroical work they do . Ladder 49is not that film .
Ladder 49 is a moving picture send by Jay Russell that follows the life of fire fighter Jack Morrison , played by Joaquin Phoenix . Struggling with the dangerous nature of his profession , Morrison reflects on his career while ensnare inside a burn off construction . John Travolta star as his wise man , Captain Mike Kennedy , providing a deeper look into the forfeit and brotherhood inherent in firefighting .
Ladder 49 is a film directed by Jay Russell that follows the life of firefighter Jack Morrison, played by Joaquin Phoenix. Struggling with the dangerous nature of his profession, Morrison reflects on his career while trapped inside a burning building. John Travolta stars as his mentor, Captain Mike Kennedy, providing a deeper look into the sacrifices and brotherhood inherent in firefighting.
Ladder 49 is a film directed by Jay Russell that follows the life of firefighter Jack Morrison, played by Joaquin Phoenix. Struggling with the dangerous nature of his profession, Morrison reflects on his career while trapped inside a burning building. John Travolta stars as his mentor, Captain Mike Kennedy, providing a deeper look into the sacrifices and brotherhood inherent in firefighting.
