I always felt like this film was a cheap Hollywood exploitation of the firefighter following the 9/11 tragedy. It drew big numbers at the box office from sympathetic viewers but ultimately, the film was just ok.
Honestly, before watching this, I wasn't expecting much from this flick but since it was starring John Travolta and Joaquin Phoenix, I thought I should give it a try. Eventually, it ended up being the best movie about the subject I have ever seen. I mean, it is not like any I have seen 1000's movies about firefighters and it doesn't mean it is a masterpiece but I thought the whole thing was pretty... read more
Description:Joaquin Phoenix is great in this saga of Baltimore firefighter Jack Morrison, whose life starts flashing before his eyes when he becomes trapped in a blazing high rise. Flashbacks chronicle his memories of being a rookie at his Baltimore fire company. He remembers fighting his first fire, bonding with fellow firefighters, falling in lJoaquin Phoenix is great in this saga of Baltimore firefighter Jack Morrison, whose life starts flashing before his eyes when he becomes trapped in a blazing high rise. Flashbacks chronicle his memories of being a rookie at his Baltimore fire company. He remembers fighting his first fire, bonding with fellow firefighters, falling in love with a beautiful local girl (Jacinda Barrett), getting married, and having children. He also looks back on forming a close relationship with the fire chief (John Travolta) and learning to face the danger and heroics of life on the job. This film manages to wring plenty of well-earned tears from its subject matter--as well as spine-tingling thrills--which are the result of solid performances, characterization, and good naturalistic dialogue from screenwriter Lewis Colick. Barrett is great as Jack's worried wife; she and Phoenix exhibit strong, earthy chemistry in their scenes together. Travolta makes a fine fire captain who is graceful, sure of himself, and always ready to give up the spotlight to the younger actors. Other firemen include Morris Chestnut, Balthazar Getty, and Robert Patrick. The addition of a soundtrack of contemporary Irish and Irish-American folk and rock keeps the melancholia just a whisper away. The heroics of 9/11 are subtly honored here, but never directly mentioned, which is to the film's credit.... (more)(less)
“Honestly, before watching this, I wasn't expecting much from this flick but since it was starring John Travolta and Joaquin Phoenix, I thought I should give it a try. Eventually, it ended up being the best movie about the subject I have ever seen. I mean, it is not like any I have seen 1000's movies about firefighters and it doesn't mean it is a masterpiece but I thought the whole thing was pretty entertaining but still rather realistic. John Travolta gave, as usual, a decent performance and Joaquin Phoenix was just impressive (thank God he dropped the whole retirement-I-wanna-be-a-rapper thing!). I know it is not a real popular flick but I think it is actually rather underrated. Of course, the story is nothing mindblowing whatsoever and it is actually rather predictable but they managed t” read more
garfield2710 added this to a list 1 year, 4 months ago