"Ladder 49" (2004) - Jay Russell

With recent controversy with our local Winnipeg Fire Dept., there were mixed feels about the release of Jay Russell's "Ladder 49". Also, with a brother who is a fire fighter, I was concerned that we might be treated to another sappy hero flick where good men die so the audience can feel proud of them.

I was pleased to find that the film ended up giving a very human look into the lives of a fire fighter, from the beginning of his career, through to his biggest fire crisis. Obviously, with only two hours to tell the story of the fire fighters life, our protagonist was forced to be every fire fighter, seeming to be confronted with every challenge possible. And while the film did pull on your heart strings with moderately exploitive hero worship, the characters were human enough to be believable.

I'll reserve final judgment, however, until after my brother and his co-workers have seen it. Otherwise, it is "a walk, but don't run" film on an otherwise quiet cinema weekend.