Ladder 49 (2004)

User Rating:

6.5/10   

Director:

Jay Russell

Writer (WGA):

Lewis Colick (written by)

Release Date:

1 October 2004 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Drama | Thriller

Tagline:

A bond forged by fire is never broken.

Plot:

Under the watchful eye of his mentor Captain Mike Kennedy, probationary firefighter Jack Morrison matures...

Plot Keywords:

Firefighter | Fire | Irish Catholic | Catholic Church | Warrior

Awards:

1 win & 6 nominations

Cast

Joaquin Phoenix	...	Jack Morrison
John Travolta	...	Captain Mike Kennedy
Jacinda Barrett	...	Linda Morrison
Robert Patrick	...	Lenny Richter
Morris Chestnut	...	Tommy Drake
Billy Burke	...	Dennis Gauquin
Balthazar Getty	...	Ray Gauquin
Tim Guinee	...	Tony Corrigan
Kevin Chapman	...	Frank Mckinny
Jay Hernandez	...	Keith Perez
Kevin Daniels	...	Don Miller
Steve Maye	...	Pete Lamb
Robert Lewis	...	Ed Reilly (as Robert Logan Lewis)
Brooke Hamlin	...	Katie Morrison
Spencer Berglund	...	Nicky Morrison

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for intense fire and rescue situations, and for language.

Runtime:

115 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

India:UA | Iceland:10 | Iceland:12 (video rating) | Malaysia:U | USA:PG-13 (certificate #40479) | South Korea:12 | Sweden:7 | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Brazil:12 | Canada:PG | Chile:14 | Finland:K-11 | Germany:12 | Hong Kong:IIA | Ireland:12 | Netherlands:12 | Norway:11 | Peru:14 | Philippines:PG-13 | Singapore:PG | Switzerland:12 (canton of Zurich) | UK:12A

Filming Locations:

Baltimore, Maryland, USA

Company:

Touchstone Pictures

Trivia:

Every fire scene in the film depicts an actual firefighting incident somewhere in the USA. The scene where Jack Morrison is rescuing the civilian trapped on the 20th story ledge was an incident in New York City, where an acquaintance of Tim Guinee (Tony Corrigan) was rescued by firefighters in the same exact manner.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: When Jack is on the rope holding the man at the city high-rise fire, you hear a news chopper saying that it is over the fire scene, but after Jack says that he will drop the man if he doesn't calm down, you can see the word "POLICE" on the bottom of the chopper.

Quotes:

Lenny Richter: [during the traditional false-confession initiation] How about sex? Are you a virgin?
Keith Perez: No, sir.
Lenny Richter: You think it's funny to fornicate with loose women?
Keith Perez: No, sir.
Lenny Richter: Well, if you want to have sex, why don't you just get married?
Keith Perez: I can't, sir.
Lenny Richter: Why?
Keith Perez: Well, the church doesn't allow two men to get married...
Lenny Richter: [to the other firefighters] What the...
Keith Perez: [pulls back the curtain, laughing]
[...]

Movie Connections:

Edited into Underdog (2007)

Soundtrack:

Twice as Hard

Jack Webb Would Be Proud

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.