Ladder 49
A Film Review By Clyde Ayles (Film Info Click Here)
A TRIBUTE TO HERO'S
There was 'Backdraft", There was "The Guys" and now comes LADDER 49. They are all fine tributes to our firefighting hero's. They are the brave men who put their own life on the line to save others. And no matter how many movies you see about them, you will probably never really know what they go through. The emotion, the chills, the near deaths. LADDER 49 takes us into this world as best as it can. It shows us how they fight the blazes and how it effects thier lifes and family's. The film starts off with a bang. We see the fire trucks racing to a huge fire at a warehouse. There we are introduced to Jack Morrison, a brave gung ho firefighter, played by the very capable JOAQUIN PHOENIX, He is in the building when the floor collapses , burying him beneath a pile of rubble. As he lays there waiting to be rescued, we see flashbacks of his first days when he enters the station as a rookie. He is the butt of his fellow workers jokes before he is finally accepted. He meets his chief, a rugged, brash fellow played by JOHN TRAVOLTA, who really needs a hit movie again. We follow the men as they fight many fires, big fires, there are never small fires in these movies. We are there as Jack meets the love of his life, (JACINDA BARRETT, of Real World London.). We are at the wedding, we are there for the birth of his children, and we are there for the family birthday parties. We are a part of his life. You really pray for this brave man to be rescued from that building. The film travels back and forth between his life and the attempts to free him. He deserves to live. Everyone prays for this man and his family. The fire scenes are well done, even though the weather in Baltimore, where the film was shot, did not always cooperate. There were blizzards and heavy rainstorms According to the director, JAY RUSSELL (My Dog Skip), the snow you see is part of a real blizzard.. SEE YA AT THE MOVIES CLYDE
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© 2003 Clyde Ayles