Synopsis
Under the watchful eye of his mentor, Captain Mike Kennedy, probationary firefighter Jack Morrison matures into a seasoned veteran at a Baltimore fire station. However, Jack has reached a crossroads as the sacrifices he's made have put him in harm's way innumerable times and significantly impacted his relationship with his wife and kids.
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Cast
- Joaquin PhoenixJack Morrison
- John TravoltaCaptain Mike Kennedy
- Jacinda BarrettLinda Morrison
- Robert PatrickLenny Richter
- Morris ChestnutTommy Drake
- Billy BurkeDennis Gauquin
- Balthazar GettyRay Gauquin
- Tim GuineeTony Corrigan
- Kevin ChapmanFrank Mckinny
- Jay HernandezKeith Perez
Recommendations
- 75
Entertainment Weekly
Aside from the awesome flames and pyrotechnic scenes of crisis, danger, and part-of-the-job bravery, the movie is a quiet salute; it does its job. - 63
ReelViews
One could argue that such an approach isn't all bad - after all, it allows us to know and like the characters - but there are times when Ladder 49 gets a little too cute. - 60
The Hollywood Reporter
The film is less of a drama than a tribute -- an ode, even -- to the spirit and tenacity of firefighters. Its makers hardly bother to explore the lives or motives behind their actions. - 60
Variety
It plays, rather, like an old-fashioned, by-the-numbers drama that solidly connects with most of its well-worn cliches. - 60
Dallas Observer
This resolutely old-fashioned movie is less a drama of the streets than a kind of recruiting film. - 50
L.A. Weekly
Phoenix, who initially seemed the kind of actor who was too cool, too angry, to appear in studio pap such as this, is a magnetic presence, despite the numbing pathos surrounding him, but isn't that what we used to say about Travolta? - 50
Chicago Tribune
Instead of cashing in on barely healed wounds, Ladder 49 could have taken a different cue from pornography and gone the way of "Boogie Nights," a fascinating, difficult and honest glimpse into another storied profession. - 40
The A.V. Club
In a shrill attempt to overcompensate for the film's shortcomings, William Ross' hyperbolic score does the audience's work for it, cheering heroism, guffawing during lighthearted moments, and getting all misty-eyed during the tender and tragic scenes.
