Ladder 49—solid—employs action with suspense and drama to build a good watch
movie. Joaquin Phoenix, John Travolta, and Robert Patrick make a surprisingly
good casting team. Character development
is not deep, but the characters still manage to make a significant enough
impression that one can keep them separate while following their lives and life
activities, This is a good watch and gives a good look at teams who work
closely together.
Film Poster Courtesy of Google Images
Storyline
Firemen work courageously to rescue people and
contain fire.
Additional
Thanks
Thank you to Jay Russell for directing efforts.
Thank you to Producer Casey Silver for making the film possible. Cast includes:
Joaquin Phoenix, John Travolta, Morris Chestnut, Robert Patrick, Balthazar Getty,
Jay Hernandez, and Jacinda Barrett.
Buy a ticket? Yes? No? Maybe?
Yes. This movie, a simple, straight-forward story,
focuses on the teamwork, camaraderie, discipline, and courage that a fireman’s
lifestyle employs. It’s a good family watch with good educational value and provides
good, after-viewing discussion material.
Gladiator—good, well-told, well-written story—wisely chose Russell Crowe as the lead actor. That choice made this film work. The movie also shows Richard Harris in the latter part of his career. It is a good pick and a great reminder of past, prime-time entertainment for the audience who appreciates Roman history films.
Film Poster Courtesy of Wikipedia
Storyline
Rome,
Italy is under the rule of Marcus Aurelius (Richard Harris). Particularly
pleased with General Maximus’ (Russell Crowe) victories over the difficult
Germania borderlands, he offers the rule of the Roman Empire to General Maximus
over his own son Commodus’ inherent rights. The greatly angered Commodus
murders his father and takes vengeance on General Maximus’ family by ruthlessly
murdering them. General Maximus ends up in Zucchabar where he is trained to
fight in gladiator arenas. He works his way back to Rome through skillful
fighting, performs in front of Emperor Commodus, and turns the Roman Empire
against its own reigning Emperor.
Additional Thanks
Great
Work for Director Ridley Scott. Thank you to Executive Producers Laurie
MacDonald, Walter F. Parkes, and Ridley Scott for making the film possible.
Additional characters/cast include: Lucilla (Connie Nielsen), Proximo (Oliver
Reed), Gracchus (Derek Jacobi), Juba (Djimon Hounsou), Falco (David Schofield),
Gaius (John Shrapnel), Quintus (Tomas Arana), Hagen (Ralf Moeller), Lucius
(Spencer Treat Clark), Cassius (David Hemmings), Cicero (Tommy Flanagan), and
Tigris (Sven-Ole Thorsen).
Buy a ticket? Yes? No? Maybe?
Yes. This is a good watch and tells its story well. This movie works as a big budget film with an epic story to tell. This film could use a little better presentation to move the movie into a higher interest level.
