Ladder 49
While waiting for a rescue from without, firefighter Jack Morrison, trapped in a burning warehouse with a broken leg, flashes back to various events in his life: the first, awkward days on the force, meeting the woman who would become his wife and saving a small girl from a burning building.
31 August 1940, Orange, New Jersey, USA
13 June 1927, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
1 August 1952, Newark, New Jersey, USA
August 3, 1982 in Washington, District of Columbia, USA
18 February 1954, Englewood, New Jersey, USA
18 September 1935, Akron, Ohio, USA
14 December 1970, San Diego, California, USA
25 November 1966, Everett, Washington, USA
20 February 1978, Montebello, California, USA
12 December 1962, Washington, District of Columbia, USA
10 May 1950, Alexandria, Virginia, USA
September 24, 2007
A fairly routine firefighter drama, with burning-building sequences that more or less all look alike.
October 01, 2004
Ladder 49 might have been an oversized Hollywood dazzler. Phoenix keeps it firmly and modestly on a human scale.
October 01, 2004
An action drama/weepie that's so busy telling us that its characters are heroes, it forgets that they should be people first.
July 25, 2007
It's slick and it honors firefighters as obviously as the first wave of WWII films paid tribute to America's fighting men and women.
March 29, 2011
Except for Jack no one else in the film is very well defined, and it often falls back onto types. The actors are good, and make the best of what they've got, but what they've got is very thin.
October 06, 2004
A serviceable testament to the firemen who would bravely risk their lives to protect the safety of others, etc., etc.
October 01, 2004
Offers audiences a real rarity in theaters these days: a good, honest cry.
December 25, 2010
Unabashed love letter to firefighters everywhere.
July 25, 2005
...has about the same amount of depth as an article from 'Boy's Life.'
October 01, 2004
The story of Jack Morrison (Joaquin Phoenix), a guy so emotionally uncomplicated and unquestioningly dedicated to rescuing people he might have been raised by Saint Bernards.
October 25, 2006
A well-crafted tribute to the many dedicated firefighters who risk life and limb to make our world a little safer.
October 01, 2004
Even the best scenes feel canned, secondhand, packaged. We've seen this all before.
