Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
FANTASTIC, 7 Jan 2007
By far the best movie in a very long time. The show really captures what firemen do for us everyday. The show is heartwarming and inspirational. I give it two BIG thumbs up!!!!!
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6 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
A film about why men run into burning buildings., 2 Aug 2007
You can just tell that this movie has oodles of good intention oozing from every pore, and taken as a whole, it does work as a tribute to the noble profession of firefighter. However, the story arc covers no new ground, and cannot really be described in any way as multilayered - what you see is what you get. Having said that, the director treats these predictable scenes in a sensitive way that involves you more than you might expect.
What you do get, is Joachin Phoenix' character injured and trapped in a large burning building, and as he waits for his rescue, we see his life unfold through flashbacks to key events, starting from when he first walks into the fire station as a probationary fire officer. Told just that about the movie, you can probably guess where it goes... boy meets girl, boy marries girl, boy has first kid, boy has second kid, boy has bad things happen to colleagues, boy wonders if he is in the right job considering he now has family, boy realizes he loves his job and stays. It's not particularly clever, and yet, at the end of the movie you will have an appreciation for the life of a fireman in a typical blue collar environment, which was surely the films goal in the first place. John Travolta plays the father figure Captain of the station, adding little depth to the role, but Joachin Phoenix does a passable job, gaining plaudits at least for his willingness to get right into the thick of the action and look the part. Apparently after training he became an honorary member of the firefighting team he trained with, even getting their tattoo.
If anything else raises the film from mediocrity, it is the firefighting scenes. Not just that that they have been created realistically, but that they have a real flavour of realism about them - these smack of realistic situations for firefighters, and not scenes that are chosen purely for dramatic value. The effects thankfully shy away from cgi, and the sound mix helps add to a feeling of being `inside' the fire. Best of all, the movie does not rely on these scenes to keep your interest, but they become part of the character drama.
Interestingly, in the extras the deleted scenes do add some value - one plot line in particular which has one of the firefighters dealing with the loss of his brother through sinking into a spiral of drinking, shows both the emotional and mental strain of the job and the toll it takes, as well as the camaraderie of the firefighters that help him get through it. Otherwise, the extras cover predictable ground, making of, tribute to firefighters etc. Some of the scenes showing the cast going through firefighting school are moderately interesting.
All in all, a modest success, but one that somehow you can't help feeling should have had more to it, given the talent involved. What it does achieve, is tackling not an action movie, but a sensitive character study, and why a man will run into a burning building, when everyone else is coming out.
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5 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Why do they go into a burning building?, 8 Aug 2005
Most of this movie takes place in the past as a series of flashbacks through the life of Jack Morrison (Joaquin Phoenix). He is trapped in a burning building and intersperced amongst his attempts to get clear we glimpse parts of his life starting from the first day he shows up at Engine 33's firehouse.It is sad that it took something as drastic as 9/11 to make most of Americans appreciate the hard work that firefighters put in each and every day (there is a deleted scene about 9/11 that alludes to this). However, with that in mind this is an excellent tribute to firefighters. By no means is this an action movie that you watch just for the "riveting plot." It is a character study with many emotional moments--both tearful and joyful. The content shouldn't really be objectionable as the worst consists of some mild foul language and some fire-fighting scenes that might be intense to younger viewers. There are five deleted scenes (including the 9/11 one mentioned above) but several are a bit rough. Other special features include a good music video that splices together scenes from the movie, Robbie Robertson singing, and Linda Morrison (Jacinda Barrett) in new scenes past the end of the movie. Also featured are an audio commentary and two featurettes. Don't expect an action movie or a mystery--but definately check this out for a really good drama. You'll see both the woes and the joys of firefighting. Do yourself a favour and check this movie out.
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