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LADDER 49

What You Need To Know:

LADDER 49 is a bighearted, entertaining, poignant movie. It opens as firefighters beat back a tremendous blaze in a grain elevator building where the gas from the grain is about to blow. A rescue team is sent in to save a few people, and one of the rescuers, Jack, played by Joaquin Phoenix, falls two stories through the floor after performing a heroic rescue. The fire chief played by John Travolta deploys the firemen to rescue Jack.

The movie develops tales of valor and poignant moments of concern on the parts of families. It shows the camaraderie of the firemen and their Catholic faith, which pulls them together. LADDER 49 makes clear why these men are heroes and shows the sacrifices they make. It helps us understand the fears of their families. The emotional suspense is very intense. In the midst of a movie that contains a lot of references to faith and Jesus, some of the cautions are the foul language and the implied premarital escapade between Jack and Linda, which leads to their marriage. Of course, these are part of the human condition. A movie with so much faith and values is refreshing.

Content:

(CCC, BB, Pa, LL, VV, S, Ho, N, A, D, M) Strong Christian worldview, many scenes in church, during weddings, baptisms, and funerals, references to the Catholic faith, a friendly and respectful spoof of confession, the Lord’s prayer, and significant prayers in their entirety, a rebuke of attempted adultery, and much said about firemen who give their lives to save others, all of which is mitigated by sex before the couple gets married; lots of action violence in tackling fires, man falls several stories through weakened floor, another man dies falling through floors, men crash through doors and windows, ceilings and walls fall on people, people are burned horrifically, and two fist fights; sex outside marriage, but nothing shown, kissing, mocking homosexuality in fake confession, and references to sex; upper male nudity and cleavage; drinking; smoking; and, practical jokes and discussions about withholding information from families.

GENRE: Action

More Detail:

LADDER 49 is a bighearted, entertaining, and poignant movie. It could have been a great movie, but the attempt to pay homage to firefighters becomes slightly too cloying and tendentious at points.

LADDER 49 is the ladder company of Firehouse 33 in Baltimore, Maryland. The movie opens as they attempt to fight a tremendous out of control fire in a grain elevator building. The audience is soon informed that the gas from the grain will blow at any instant.

A rescue team is sent into the building to retrieve a few people on the 12th floor. One of the rescuers is Jack Morrison, played with great realism by Joaquin Phoenix. After Jack performs a heroic rescue lowering a man to a ladder far below, the floor collapses underneath him, and Jack falls two stories. Fire chief Mike Kennedy, played by John Travolta, re-deploys the firemen to rescue Jack.

As Jack lies in a heap of concrete and destruction, his past flashes before his eyes, and so most of the movie takes place in flashbacks. On his first day as a rookie, Jack comes into the firehouse and is immediately hazed in some very humorous scenes. Since almost all of the firefighters are Catholics, they pretend to have a Catholic priest give him confession, and they nail him on his lax attitude about sex.

Soon, in his flashbacks, he meets the girl of his dreams, Linda. After a brief tryst, they are married in a beautiful church wedding. Linda, however, is deeply concerned about Jack’s firefighting career, and this concern increases as they have children. Her concerns make Jack’s present situation even more poignant and emotive.

The movie develops tales of valor and poignant moments of concern on the parts of families. It shows the camaraderie of the firemen and their Catholic faith, which pulls them together at funerals, weddings, and baptisms. There is a lot of good in LADDER 49. The movie makes clear why these men are heroes. It shows the sacrifice they make for others. It helps us understand their faith and the fears of their families. And, there are a lot of references to faith and Jesus.

However, the movie would have been better served by a straight-ahead plot. The flashback devices forecast the end from the beginning, and therefore pull the punch of what could have been a very powerful ending. You can’t blame a critic for giving a spoiler when the spoiler is given at the beginning of the film.

Even so, LADDER 49 works on many levels. The acting is terrific. The suspense and fear factor at points is very intense. The dialogue is highly realistic, and the human moments are touching. Some of the cautions are the foul language and the premarital escapade between Jack and Linda, which leads to their marriage. Also, one of the firefighters spoofs homosexuality. Of course, these are part of the human condition.

On the other side, Jack gets into a fight with a firefighter who is cheating on his wife, and the movie clearly stands up for integrity, truth, justice, courage, valor, and sacrificing one’s life for others. It’s refreshing to see a movie with so much faith and values.

Now more than ever we’re bombarded by darkness in media, movies, and TV. Movieguide® has fought back for almost 40 years, working within Hollywood to propel uplifting and positive content. We’re proud to say we’ve collaborated with some of the top industry players to influence and redeem entertainment for Jesus. Still, the most influential person in Hollywood is you. The viewer.

What you listen to, watch, and read has power. Movieguide® wants to give you the resources to empower the good and the beautiful. But we can’t do it alone. We need your support.

You can make a difference with as little as $7. It takes only a moment. If you can, consider supporting our ministry with a monthly gift. Thank you.

Movieguide® is a 501c3 and all donations are tax deductible.


Now more than ever we’re bombarded by darkness in media, movies, and TV. Movieguide® has fought back for almost 40 years, working within Hollywood to propel uplifting and positive content. We’re proud to say we’ve collaborated with some of the top industry players to influence and redeem entertainment for Jesus. Still, the most influential person in Hollywood is you. The viewer.

What you listen to, watch, and read has power. Movieguide® wants to give you the resources to empower the good and the beautiful. But we can’t do it alone. We need your support.

You can make a difference with as little as $7. It takes only a moment. If you can, consider supporting our ministry with a monthly gift. Thank you.

Movieguide® is a 501c3 and all donations are tax deductible.