I have to admit my rating of this movie is biased from having to sit through it 3 rows up from a hysterical woman wailing "OH GAWD HE'S GONNA *DIIIIIIEEEEEEEEEEEE" every five minutes between blubbering sobs.

This movie sucked. nuff said. The guy gets trapped in this giant fire, and the rest of the movie is basically just flashbacks to his life as a firefighter which is as cliche and stupid as anything. Joaquin phoenix apparently thinks that he should ... (read more) This movie sucked. nuff said. The guy gets trapped in this giant fire, and the rest of the movie is basically just flashbacks to his life as a firefighter which is as cliche and stupid as anything. Joaquin phoenix apparently thinks that he should play a firefighter like a borderline mentally impaired stoner? So dumb. I ended up just doing other things through probably a third of the movie, I don't think I missed anything at all. You could just skip the movie and not miss anything. stoooopid. The whole movie I was just going: what is the point of this scene? Why is this in the movie? WHY DO WE CARE!? The answer: we don't care, go watch something else. Yeah, so OBVIOUSLY he dies at the end. I just wish everyone else in this movie died too. guh.

Movie its self good storyline bad acting

Really quite amateur filmmaking. Really bad characterization and acting. See Backdraft instead. It's at least decent and far more entertaining.

A well done firefighter movie that ruined its chance at being a contender with Backdraft with horrible editing and storytelling choices that make you forget about Joaquin Phoenix's heroics. This movie should have been told in a linear timeline, not ... (read more) A well done firefighter movie that ruined its chance at being a contender with Backdraft with horrible editing and storytelling choices that make you forget about Joaquin Phoenix's heroics. This movie should have been told in a linear timeline, not jumping around back and forth in time. It didn't need it and the movie was ruined because of it.

Ladder 49 might have been an oversized Hollywood dazzler. Phoenix keeps it firmly and modestly on a human scale.

An action drama/weepie that's so busy telling us that its characters are heroes, it forgets that they should be people first.

In its determination to create a tribute, the filmmakers smooth too many edges and simplify too many complex emotions.

An imperfect but deeply affecting movie about the unadorned heroism of working-class firefighters.

The best compliment I can pay Ladder 49 is to say that it left me feeling thoughtful and sad.