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The film begins with a ten-minute prologue involving Morrison and the rest of the company fighting an enormous warehouse fire in Baltimore. After saving a civilian, the floor underneath Jack collapses and he tumbles down multiple stories. Hurt and immobile, he waits to be rescued while flashing back to the major moments in his life. Although the flashback structure is not unappealing, it ultimately works against the film. No one expects an injured and possibly dying man to recall the boring moments of his life. So Jack (and as a result, the film) is stuck with an overly prettified highlight reel that moves too fast and slick. In too short order, Jack settles into his firefighting gig and marries Linda (Jacinda Barrett), who then cranks out two kids. Every scene seems maximized for ultimate camaraderie, with only brief glimpses of what it must really be like to live in a firehouse. Eventually, the tone darkens as the team begins taking casualties and Linda expresses familiar fears about becoming a fireman's widow.

The narrative doesn't lack for big events, but the harder the film tries, the more we realize what's missing. None of these characters are explored in any depth. All we know about Mike Kennedy is that he's divorced and he owns at least two pairs of funny underwear. Most of the others exist merely to be heroic. Also, we never get a sense of what's mentally required to be a fireman, or why people become fireman, other than it helps them land hot girls. Those who choose to become police officers or fireman or soldiers or reality show contestants approach life differently than the rest of us. Ladder 49 fails to get inside the heads of its characters and, with the exception of Jack, doesn't even try.

Director Jay Russell makes sure that plenty of flames blow out plenty of windows, but without fully developed characters it's all just a technical exercise. Travolta, whose close- cropped haircut makes his head look perfectly round, just doesn't seem right. He's best as a cool customer (Get Shorty, Saturday Night Fever, Pulp Fiction). As the heart-of-gold leader of sweaty, death-defying men, the cracks show in his acting. The more grounded he tries to make himself, the less I believe him. With the exception of Barrett, who makes the most of a by-the-numbers part, none of the others distinguish themselves, nor have they been given the tools to do so. The bland score by William Ross doesn't help, its cliched Irish lilt giving way to a horrible Robbie Robertson-penned song at a crucial moment.

There's a lot be said for those who rush into fires while everyone else rushes out. But Ladder 49 gave me nothing I haven't heard before, or couldn't have figured out myself. It was undoubtedly made with the best of intentions, but the storytelling is so broad, the film is ultimately rendered unnecessary.

The Video: How Does The Disc Look?

The film's theatrical aspect ratio of 1.85 is presented in anamorphic video. The results are outstanding. Although much of the film takes place at night or inside darkened buildings, blacks are mostly very dark and very dense. Shadow detail stays generally excellent, with pixilation and compression artifacts held at bay. An occasional shot will look murky, but considering the inherent difficulty in transferring such a dark film, we'll forgive these tiny infractions. The color palette is very wide, even though all the colors of the rainbow aren't represented all the time. Only over the course of the film, with daytime exteriors and night interiors (and vice versa) do we realize how many colors are represented. And it's all very bright and confident. Reds don't tear, whites don't seem blown out, and the green of the local pub doesn't smear at all. Detail is good, although there are some items I should've been able to read (like wall charts) that I could not. Also, some of the medium shots looked soft. The daytime exteriors are very smooth and filmlike. Edge halos do rear their thin, ugly head occasionally, but I found it nothing to worry about. There were zero print defects. Flesh tones are natural and contrast is above average. It's a terrific transfer with one or two tiny problems that shouldn't bother you.

The Audio: How Does The Disc Sound?

The Dolby Digital 5.1 track is augmented by something Buena Vista is calling an Enhanced Home Theater Mix. Disney has also utilized this vague, but promising-sounding concept on the Mary Poppins DVD and the Aladdin DVD. It does live up to the hype, however. Ladder 49 sounds great. Most benefiting from the added aural effort are the fire scenes. The flames, with their crackling sounds and rumblings are completely immersive. They fill the room, utilizing all channels. The bigger sounds, like explosions and the crumbling of buildings also sound great, with aural detail and confident bass raising it above the norm. The dialogue is clean and understandable. The mix is well balanced among effects, dialogue, and music. Good effort from Buena Vista.

There is also a French Dolby Digital 5.1 track and English, French, and Spanish subtitles.

Supplements: What Goodies Are There?

Being a director is a lot like being a fireman: you spend most of your time putting out fires. And the supplements provided give you some idea of how hard it was to put this film together and how hard it is to be a fireman.

The Making of Ladder 49 is a 21 minute featurette that can be played all at once or in three separate chunks, On Location, Fire Academy: Training the Actors, and Anatomy of a Scene: The Warehouse Fire. According to the piece, Baltimore was picked because it was specific and photogenic and underused in the movies. Director Jay Russell also admits that Baltimore was perfect since the city would let the production burn whatever they wanted. Russell also says that Phoenix was afraid of heights when they first met, but by the end, he was doing many of his own stunts. There is even footage of Travolta singeing his hands during a shot and the medics attending to him. All of the actors spent two weeks training at the Baltimore Fire Academy. There is good footage of the training program, giving you a sense of how complicated it is to be a firefighter. The major fire of the film was shot at an abandoned grain silo and the final third of the featurette explains into how dangerous it was to shoot there, and how the stunt people checked and double-checked everything to insure safety. All the filmmakers are interviewed, including producer Casey Silver and writer Lewis Colick. The full screen behind-the-scenes footage looks quite good and even the full screen film clips look terrific.

Everyday Heroes is a 14- minute tribute to what makes firefighters tick. There are nice interviews with many real Baltimore firefighters, including Lt. Donald Schafer from Engine Company 5. We meet him at home, getting ready to receive an award for bravery. He has a wife and two daughters, and God knows if they ever stop worrying about the safety of their father. Everyday Heroes is a nice piece that salutes real heroes. It also reminds you that this 14-minute extra is more emotional then the entirety of Ladder 49. The full screen footage looks great.

Next are Deleted Scenes. There are five in all, totaling about 14 minutes. Lunch Room Conversation is just three minutes of unnecessary small talk. Jack and Linda's First Date is slow, but at least it's character oriented, something the picture sorely needs. Captain Tony Arrives is about the arrival of a new captain, a buttoned-down tool whom our hardy heroes don't immediately like. Ray's Subplot answers the question: What was Balthazar Getty doing in this movie? In this three-minute scene, Getty's character admits he's going into rehab for a drinking problem. This would have worked better if his drinking problem were tied to the pressure of being a fireman. But instead, his problem comes out of nowhere. The most interesting deleted scene is 9-11. In it, Phoenix comes home to a news report that the World Trade Center was attacked. It's an odd moment that was better left on the cutting room floor. All the clips seem outputted from an Avid, so they look good, but not as good as the finished film.

There is an audio commentary by director Jay Russell and editor Bud Smith. Despite some very long patches of silence, their comments are interesting and conversational. Russell discusses how the fireballs were created and how much preparation went into making the movie as authentic looking as possible. It's a nice listen, although it must be said that their voices are too harsh, which is annoying.

Finally, there is a music video for Robbie Robertson's "Shine Your Light," a song that ruins a somber moment in the film.

Exclusive DVD-ROM Features: What happens when you pop the disc into your PC?

There are no DVD-ROM features on this DVD.

Final Thoughts