Review: Ladder 49

Rated: PG-13

At the Gaslight

Rating: **1/2

My heart was touched by "Ladder 49," a tribute to firefighters in particular, and all of those who put their lives on the line for others, in general. But my mind just couldn't get past the fact that this is a pretty routine piece of movie-of-the-week-style filmmaking - despite its good intentions.

Clearly a post-9/11 film, "Ladder 49" is an ode to a fallen firefighter. By paying respect to one particular firefighter, the film pays tribute to all police, firefighters, soldiers and public servants who risk their lives for others.

The story begins as Jack, a rookie firefighter, joins his New York unit. He is introduced to Chief Mike Kennedy (John Travolta) who is sitting at his desk in boxer shorts -- drinking whiskey. Only later does Jack learn that his "meet the drunken chief" session was one of many staged "rookie rituals."

Soon he's making friends, and tipping a few drinks after work with his buddies. The fun and banter is interrupted by bells, of course, sending the men down poles and into trucks.

Our hero meets a girl in a grocery story, falls in love, gets married and has kids. Now, suddenly, his heroics in the line of duty become the source of family conflict. His wife and kids live in fear they'll lose their dad.

That's about all there is to "Ladder 49." The power of the film comes from some touching performances from Joaquin Phoenix and from Jacinda Barrett, who plays his wife. John Travolta is effective as well, playing a compassionate chief who's respected by his unit.

The power also comes from the timing: we all still have vivid pictures of New York City firefighters responding to Sept. 11 -- and we know all too well how many of them died trying to save others.

There's no denying our empathy for Jack and his family. And there are some heartfelt moments when the friends put their lives on the line for each other and for strangers in peril.

But, overall, the story prefers action to character -- there was one too many fires for my taste, and I would like to have enjoyed more character-revealing conversations between the family and friends.

"Ladder 49" could have overcome these problems if the direction had been a touch more insightful, and a touch less sentimental -- but that clearly was not the intent of this "tribute" film.

The film also could have used more of an edge -- some authentically dark moments. Instead, most of the firefighters never really lose their heroic veneer. The comic "initiation" scenes needed to be balanced by more realistic human scenes where the stresses of this career are more evident. We get that occasionally with Jack, but the other characters remain fairly superficial.

Still, despite all this, I was moved by the ending -- and appreciated the film's noble intent to honor public servants who risk their lives for us.

The truth is that firefighters and police officers are too often under-valued. In bigger cities, they are sometimes even despised. Somehow, we often manage to forget just how much they risk for us.

Firefighters, for example, don't just rescue innocent victims -- they even rescue those whose mistakes started the fire. Should someone fall asleep smoking and set the room ablaze, the rescuers will save a life first -- investigate the causes later. In other words, they protect all life -- without asking for a "character check" before busting into our bedroom to carry us to safety.

Police, too, go about their duty with remarkable calm - despite the danger. Every "routine" traffic stop carries risk. And when escapees run through alleys in our town, the police are the ones who put our fears to rest-- so we can sleep again.

I've often felt since moving to Helena that citizens of this town appreciate such public servants more than in other towns where I've lived (Houston and Seattle, for example). The trading cards, for example, that young people collect evidence that respect.

Officers like Roy Tanniehill, who keeps Helena High safe, is a splendid example of why we respect our servants -- he's firm, but gentle and seems to understand that growing up isn't easy. He's also a pretty fine drummer! Fire marshal Craig Trapp is yet another example, among many, of compassionate servants in Helena. We're lucky.

Because I, like many others, appreciate the sacrifice of Officer Tanniehill and Fire Marshal Trapp I have a soft spot in my heart for "Ladder 49." But that spot wasn't soft enough for movie-critic-me to overlook its shortcomings as a movie, while still expressing thanks for its heartfelt message.

BRENT NORTHUP is a former Seattle-area film critic who teaches communication at Carroll College.