Although they have what's arguably one of the most dangerous and harrowing jobs around, firefighters used to be the Rodney Dangerfields of the public service profession. That is, they didn't get much respect from the average Joe or Jane unless they needed emergency medical help, their house fire put out or their cat rescued from up in a tree.
Then along came 911, scores of firefighters perished while trying to save others and the group as a whole finally got the attention and respect they so rightly deserved for years. Not surprisingly, Hollywood has responded. First was the small but terrific and incredibly moving "The Guys" that focused on the emotional aftermath of that tragic event.
The second film -- the decidedly more polished and slick production that probably had a larger budget for its catering than the previous effort in total -- is "Ladder 49." Going the generic firefighter route rather than be associated with the events of 911, this is the first big budget Hollywood film to focus solely on such people since Ron Howard's "Backdraft."
That's right, there have been some thirteen years between the two films as compared to say, oh I don't know, about a gazillion featuring cops, detectives and the like. With such a scarcity of pictures, you'd hope and expect that the offerings would thus be great.
For all its faults (including firefighters reportedly questioning its "real life" components), "Backdraft" is far superior to this film from Jay Russell, the director of "Tuck Everlasting" and "My Dog Skip." Thankfully, he doesn't have this picture oozing with sentimentality like those other two.
Yet, unlike them or Howard's film, the thing this picture is missing is an A to Z plot. Following Lewis Colick's ("Domestic Disturbance," "October Sky") script, the film is mostly told in flashback, all of which stems from a contemporary event. I've never been much of a fan of that storytelling device as it usually interrupts the momentum of one or both storylines (meaning once you might get into one plot -- past or present -- the story suddenly switches gears and times, unnecessarily disrupting the flow).
If the story is good -- and isn't trying to mess around with time as in a Tarantino film -- it should be able (and just plain should) progress in a linear fashion. Although the contemporary material is obviously filled with peril -- featuring the protagonist trapped in a huge blaze as his comrades attempt to get him out -- it's certainly not unique enough (in that profession) to need or warrant the back and forth story approach.
The related but bigger problem is that neither storyline is particularly interesting. The flashbacks introduce the main character and those around him, but they're all rather blasé, not to mention episodic, disjointed and clichéd. The contemporary footage -- while clearly technically impressive and reportedly more accurate than in any other fictitious film -- doesn't have enough sparks (pun intended) to heat things up (ditto).
With no real villain or antagonist (the fire was also far more of that in "Backdraft" than here), most everything feels flat, mundane and listless when it should be teaming with depth, excitement and energy. To make matters worse, the score by composer William Ross ("Tuck Everlasting," "My Dog Skip") is often awful when not completely misguided in delivering the wrong sort of emotion for certain scenes.
Joaquin Phoenix ("The Village," "Signs") is decent as the central character and makes you feel his inner conflict, even if he never looks that different over the ten plus years between the past and present. Jacinda Barrett ("The Human Stain," "Urban Legends: Final Cut") plays the standard-issue, worrywart wife, while Robert Patrick ("Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle," "Terminator 2") is about as close to a villain as the film manages to produce.
The high profile player at bat here is John Travolta ("The Punisher," "Basic"). While he can be terrific in the right roles, others -- as is the case here -- leave him feeling like a movie star playing the part than the actual character. That, or the film's other problems might not matter to some viewers, particularly if they allow their post-911 emotions and gratitude to cloud their artistic objectivity.
There's certainly nothing wrong with honoring such men and women -- I wholeheartedly recommend it -- and the film certainly isn't an abomination by any means. It's just that those heroes deserve a better effort than this. The plot-deprived "Ladder 49" rates as a 4.5 out of 10.
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