Ladder 49 (2004) Movie Review, Trailer and Poster

USA 2004
Director: Jay Russell
Cast: Joaquin Phoenix, John Travolta, Jacinda Barrett, Jay Hernandez, Kevin Daniels, Morris Chestnut
Rating: PG-13
Release Date: 1 October 2004
Running Time: 1 hour 56 minutes

The Movie Review

Every now and then, it's always nice to see heroic acts done by firefighters. The Firefighters can be said as one of the most unselfish jobs in the world, for their job is saving others from further injuries or even death. October 2004 marked by another movie about firefighters, Ladder 49.

Ladder 49 follows a rescue attempt to save Firefighter Jack Morrison who is having an accident while helping a victim climbing down to safety. Jack (Joaquin Phoenix) is thrown down from 12th floor of a burning building to the ground. While being in a state between unconscious and awake, the scene changes to the prologue of his life, how he first joins the Ladder 49 and then drilled by Chief Mike (John Travolta), how he meets


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his wife Linda (Jacinda Barrett), how he builds relationship with fellow Firefighters and how he lives as a husband and as a Firefighter.

Movies like Ladder 49 put a lot of emphasis on the drama, and I'm pretty sure Ladder 49 is one of those movies that have done it very well. The chemistry between all the actors are great. Most notably between Joaquin Phoenix and Jacinda Barrett, shy guy Phoenix and cute smitten Jacinda. John Travolta still carries his "big-boss" charm, his personality and his character in this movie mingles nicely with the other cast. Plus, the choice of heartbreaking Irish/Scottish musical scores for Ladder 49 is just perfect to establish the dramatic emotion. Those are some elements that make this movie good, because frankly Ladder 49 has the mere same formula with other movies alike.

The jumpy scenes may be confusing at first, but this is the uniqueness of Ladder 49, it actually comprises of a series of Flashbacks. One thing though, I just glad with the acting performances from most of the cast, otherwise that series of flashbacks would be downright useless.

Through this film, we could learn much about the Firefighters' traditions, their drill and even their practical jokes. And if you pay attention to the scene, there's is a lot to learn in case you have to deal with fire. If you are interested in firefighters and how they work, Ladder 49 is a great choice, because literally Ladder 49 doesn't touch anything outside the life of Firefighters.

I personally hope that with Ladder 49, many people will get to know a lot about Firefighters and appreciate them more for their job. It's a very noble thing to save other people's life.

© iwan pranowo of Movielogy.com