Just how much cheese can there be in one film? How corny can drama become before the audience is forced to make a joke out of every scene? Is there a limit to the amount of clichés that can be packed into a film? And how can a film focus almost entirely on one character, and yet have the audience not know anything about him other than the fact that he's "courageous"? (Which we already know because he's a fire-fighter). All the questions and more are answered in Ladder 49; a great big cheesy, clichéd, hilarious train wreck of a film; masquerading as a serious drama. This is one of those movies that forsakes characterisation, and simply piles on the sentiment to such an extent that some people really will be fooled into thinking this is a good film. Not me, though. The story follows a fire-fighter who finds himself trapped in a burning building. We then follow this guy through his trials and tribulations since joining the fire service. In just a couple of years on the job, he does just about everything imaginable. He gets married, has two kids, gets a commendation, watches a friend get killed and another one injured, fights several fires and even manages to smash a window by swinging from a rope. We see all this, yet I just couldn't care. It's a sad situation for an audience member to be in when only reason to care for the only "fleshed out" character in the film is because he's the lead. The lead character is basically just your average Hollywood fire-fighter; he's got courage, he feels for his fellow man, he's got a wife who doesn't like him doing his job blah blah blah. The film's message is (all to) obviously that fire-fighters risk their lives etc; and aside from being obvious, this is also rendered pointless by the terrible characterisation. When you can't care for the characters, it's hard to care for the film itself - and what's the point in a message when the audience doesn't care? The acting is absolutely average, with Joaquin Phoenix looking bored most of the time, and John Travolta on autopilot (yet again). Aside from failing as a drama, this awful movie also fails as an action film. Films dealing with fires will always have action in them; but the slow motion sequences and sentiment saturation ensure that the sequences that could have been exciting, are boring. On the whole, if you want to see a film about the trials and tribulations of fire fighting - don't see this one. I guess patriotic Americans may find something of interest in this film, but the best thing I can say about it is that at least me and my friends had fun laughing at how ridiculous it is.

One part of the film shows the present time where the main character is about to die, and the other part shows how good pals the firefighters are (no critic of the REAL firefighters here, this film just doesn't portrait them just fully) and how he meets his wife, gets married etc. etc. etc. ZZZZZZZZZZZZZ This film is like a moped that tries, and tries, and tries to kick-start, but at the end you realize the tank is empty. It tries so hard, throughout the film, to get you emotionally connected to the main character, that it very early gets too sticky. And thats it. Thats the hole movie. One long buildup that leads to nothing. A detail in the film that I noticed was that there were no smokers in the bars etc. except one. And as I expected that firefighter died (hollywood can be so political correct, that it takes away the focus of the film). If you have high expectations for this film you will most likely be let down. I CANNOT understand how it has gotten so high a rating here on IMDb.

You know you're in trouble when you start woolgathering during a movie, and thinking about weird stuff like where does the screenwriter get the names for his characters. Take "Ladder 49", for example. I think Hollywood must be having us on. I mean, the hero of the story is a fireman named Jack Morrison. (Come on, baby, light my fire ... Get it?) And, to boot, the guy is played by Joaquin Phoenix. (The phoenix being a legendary bird that dies in flames and rises from its ashes. Too bad I can't say the same thing about this movie.) My viewing of "Ladder 49" started off on the wrong foot to begin with. The score is all wrong and at times completely inappropriate. And, okay, so lots of the firemen are Irish Catholics. (We're talking Baltimore, Maryland, here.) But did we need all that stereotypical Celtic music that made me feel like I was watching "Titanic"? Also, "Ladder 49" sets out to show us what heroes firemen are. (I was about to be politically correct and say "firefighters", but there were no women at the station.) But I often got the impression that firemen were, not heroes, but hosers. They are definitely Regular Guys, Good Old Boys. See them cruising chicks in the supermarket aisle. See them chug-a-lugging at the neighborhood bar. See them pulling practical jokes on the latest rookie on the force. The structure of the film is a rehash of a standard cop-drama plot: veteran (John Travolta) trains rookie (Joaquin Phoenix). The movie also switches back and forth from the present (Jack trapped in a blaze and periodically blacking out, like the screen) and the past (a series of flashbacks recounting Jack's ten-year career). The picture ends with a montage of firefighting scenes that struck me as a collection of outtakes that the director couldn't find any other use for. The best thing about "Ladder 49" is the relationship between Jack and his wife Linda. Without that solid core, the film would have crumbled and fallen apart like a burning building. But even their love story isn't enough for this firefighting drama to radiate much heat and warmth -- only a lot of smoke.

I'm a firefighter in Holland and there were really a couple of surprises for me in the movie. If the movie is accurate, the FD in the US is very differently organised. For one, we never enter a building which is on fire without bringing "high pressure" water. Another thing that amazed me, was the respiratory equipment. Ours fits tight around the nose and mouth and you can not see the entire face of each other. But in the movie it's like they are wearing fishtanks. :-) A stupid mistake in the movie is when they rescue the girl which they have to reanimate. When they come out of the building, they put her on a bed and wheel her into the ambulance---> weird thing, WHERE ARE THE AMBULANCE GUYS????? The start doing the reanimation in the ambulance like it's the most normal thing in the world. Then there's the incident where the guy falls thru the roof. What the hell were they doing on the roof???? No one was missing and even if there was, you never walk on top of a burning building. Besides all that, it is an entertaining movie. But it's still not good enough. Is it ever? Maybe I'm being to critical. I wish all American firefighters all the best. Cause you will need it considering the gear you use. The European outfit is so much saver! Anyway, respect and all the best for 2005.

Don't believe the negative hype being thrown around at this movie at all. It is quite simply one of the most extraordinary tributes out there without all the Hollywood-ization that you find in a lot of movies like this. This is as close to real life as you can pretty much get. While I wouldn't say this was a perfect movie nor did it revolutionize anything, I definitely liked it a lot! I thought the flashback sequence was pretty cool and that it panned out well in the end. There were some sad parts and just like in actuality they usually have to go right back to work the very next day. While John Travolta can put on some terrible performances as of late, he carried on tremendously throughout, especially during his speeches. Joaquin Phoenix is always somewhat good even if he's in a lackluster role which fortunately wasn't the case here. It was also great to see Robert Patrick in another civil service role (as it seems to be that he usually gets stuck with) as he is a vastly underrated actor. Overall a great film, I hope it gets a couple Oscar nods next year! Final Count: Movies: Worth the ticket price in every way! DVD Purchase: Possibly, but it'll mean different things to different people. Rental: Abso-positvely-lutely!

This film is easily one of my all time favourite movies. Joaquin Phoenix and John Travolta make "Ladder 49" Unmissable. During the worst fire Jack Morrison has ever fought, he falls through the floor and is "busted up" pretty badly. As his mentor Mike tries to find a way to save him, Jack has Constant flashbacks,that tell us how Jack Morrison (Phoenix) started as a rookie fireman, and mentored by his good friend Mike (Travolta) he becomes the greatest fireman in Baltimore. The on-screen chemistry between Travolta and Phoenix, makes this movie one of the best fireman movies out there. If you are in need of a good movie, watch "Ladder 49" But just make sure you have the tissues at the ready!! (sniff)

Remember the classic Oscar-winning film, "How Green Was My Valley?" What made that film so great was the deep connections of a Welsh mining family and the people around them. I felt that same deep connection when I saw Ladder 49. Here we see firemen interacting not only on the job but in their personal lives as well. We share their joys and their heartbreaks. John Travolta shines in a supporting role as the commander of the firemen. Joaquin Phoenix is very appealing as firemen Jack Morrison, whose story is the picture. While trapped in a burning building, flashbacks are well used to show his life from the time of his joining the fire department, his meeting with his future wife, his marriage and his heroic deeds. The stalwart ending of the perseverance of firemen, in the face of tragedy, makes this a heartily recommended film.

As much as I respect firefighters for what they do. I was unimpressed and bored with this film. The acting was OK but Joaquin Phoenix was a poor casting choice to say the least. What bothered me the most about this film was the Celtic music whining on and on and on at the worst possible time in the film. The directing and continuity was pretty bad too! **SPOILER** For example, after Phoenix's character falls several stories and is badly injured, he can barely move to speak to his captain on the radio. Then miraculously, he manages to crawl across a huge space covered in rubble and fire to punch a man-sized opening in a double thickness brick wall using only a foot-long piece of re-bar???? And to top it all off he then gets ultra weak and busted-up again. Did anyone also notice that throughout the film, whenever you see shots of Joaquin fighting fires and rescuing people, there is little or no smoke in the buildings. I would think the smoke should be pretty thick in a flame engulfed building. I also got tired of hearing the search and rescue team yelling "I need some equipment over here!!!". I really thought I would enjoy this film but I found it to be a weak attempt at representing the true life of a fireman. The intention was there but I honestly think that this film could have been so much better. I couldn't help but think that the producer was trying to meet a deadline with this film and had to rush to put it in theaters. More time should have been spent on editing and ensuring there was good flow to the film. The special effects were impressive in some scenes but disappointing and almost ridiculous in others. Kind of like a Jerry Bruckheimer movie. Call me critical but I just can't see what's so great about this movie. At least it wasn't as bad as "The Whole Ten Yards" which is by far the worst film I've seen in recent months. I really hope there isn't a Ladder 50 in the making!

This is a film that definitely looks at the day to day lives of firemen as it is primarily through the eyes of Jack Morrison. The film pretty much looks at how he starts off as a rookie, how he meets his wife and how his career progresses until that fateful night. The more I watched this film, the more it reminded me of a classic "Adam-12" episode entitled "Elegy for a Pig". The only differences between that episode and the film were the fact that it was only a half an hour as opposed to two hours for this film and the fact that the only person in that episode to have a speaking role was Martin Milner as his character Pete Malloy described his and his best friend's career from the day he joined the force to the night his buddy was killed in the line of duty. The only negative that I found with this film is that it tended to slow down in certain areas, especially in the scenes involving Jack's home life with his worried wife Linda and their kids. This is a solid if not spectacular film where the action sequences take a backseat to the human drama of day to day life.

I'm sorry, perhaps this is part of the wave of praise for fireman since 911, perhaps it's an old fashioned story, perhaps it's not meant to knock your socks off but I'm sorry, this film is awful. As in the title, cliché 49, I think it has at least that many clichés. It's a dreary story (impressive managing to be dreary when there's dangerous fires and lives being saved) about a fireman. And his dreary life, told in a pointless, 'scene from now' flashback to the past style. We begin the film with the hero in peril in a collapsing burning building. The entire film is about trying to get us to love this guy so we squeeze a few tears out when he meets his end in the finale of the scene from the start of the film. I found it hard to care and wished he'd gone up in smoke earlier. Clichés abound such as - death of best friend, love at first site, hazing in a new job, firstborn, a worried wife with a husband with a perilous job, a father figure boss/superior, 2.4 kids (well 2 but close enough), sacrificing your life to save others, awards for bravery....on and on. It's every fireman's life, every police officer, nurse, doctor in some way. It was lazy, if it was meant as a 'life flashing before his eyes' as he died, then God help the poor chap, I'm surprised he didn't suck in more smoke to go quicker. The flashbacks are mostly mundane and predictable, dully acted and with a soundtrack that could put The Laughing Cow out of business it was so cheesy, it actually sounded like muzak or copyright free elevator stuff!!! To be avoided at all costs unless you need something to watch with granny of a Sunday evening. Or maybe if your related to a firefighter - warning - your life will end horribly or you will be scarred for life if you are a brave fireman according to this movie. Unless your John Travolta (strange Velcro style hair in this one!!)