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Anyway, before I completely ruin a good introduction Ladder
49 is one of those movies that reached me on a different level.
Not some way-off then planet, cosy mung bean smoking sort
of thing, but a "wow, that has hit home."
Ladder 49 is about firemen in Baltimore and follows the career
of Jack Morrison (Phoenix) as he goes from being a rookie
to one of the leading rescue crewmen in the city.
It spans 10 years and is shot largely in flashback as an
injured and trapped Morrison awaits rescue himself by his
buddies. Ladder 49 is about mateship and I think that's the
bit that may hook Aussies. It is a movie crammed with different
characters, personal lives, families, friends and full-on
action.
The fire scenes are dramatic and very exciting and just when
you think "oh this is going to be like such and such"
Ladder 49 takes a turn away from what you expect.
Phoenix is superb in this and carries the movie with a non-edgy,
ordinary guy appeal. He loves his family but being part of
that brotherhood that puts fires out and saves people is something
he finds hard to resist.
Travolta is his station chief and mentor and puts in, it
has to be said, one of his quieter more reflective roles as
the guy who continually sends his men out into terrible danger.
Jacinta Barrett plays Morrison's wife with an understanding
of the fears and tensions emergency services spouses go through
and she does it very, very well. And a bit of applause should
go to director Jay Russell who has mixed relationships and
hard-edge action into an extremely watcheable - and enjoyable
- movie.
Conclusion: Movie 90%
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