This film is about courage and comradeship and the constant concern for our endangered loved ones. A fireman's lot is a life fraught with danger as he faces raging fires day after day. Hell on earth, you might say.
Jack Morrison (Joachim Phoenix) is the main character of our story. A brave man willing to risk his life to save others. A truly courageous man to be sure, but he is just one of many. His comrades work as a team leaning on each other for help in every desperate situation.
Viewers will enjoy the exciting fire scenes of which there are about half a dozen. Rescuing a man from a window sill high up on a skyscraper, falling through a roof into billowing flames, carrying a young girl overcome with smoke down stairways choked with flames to the safety of a waiting ambulance . These are just some of the incidents that Jack's wife watches on her television set. She dreads the day he may not come home.
On the whole the burning buildings look fairly authentic although I thought some of the flames inside the buildings appeared to be appropriately placed jets of burning gas. The oxygen masks were very loose fitting and I wondered how efficient they would be in the smoke-filled rooms. Actors talking through masks are difficult to hear and I had some problems here, but I got the meaning.
There is a tearful ending at a funeral service when Captain Mike Kennedy (John Travolta in a supporting role)) recounts the courage of all firemen inviting the congregation to stand in their honour. He remembered the day when Jack Morrison started as a rookie fireman sweeping the floors when things were quiet and handling the nozzle of the hoses when in action. From those early days he climbed the ladder to recognition for his courage and unforgettable bravery.
This film will make every fireman feel good about himself, although he may have a quiet chuckle at some of the techniques used in fighting fires in buildings on the point of collapse.
Jack Morrison (Joachim Phoenix) is the main character of our story. A brave man willing to risk his life to save others. A truly courageous man to be sure, but he is just one of many. His comrades work as a team leaning on each other for help in every desperate situation.
Viewers will enjoy the exciting fire scenes of which there are about half a dozen. Rescuing a man from a window sill high up on a skyscraper, falling through a roof into billowing flames, carrying a young girl overcome with smoke down stairways choked with flames to the safety of a waiting ambulance . These are just some of the incidents that Jack's wife watches on her television set. She dreads the day he may not come home.
On the whole the burning buildings look fairly authentic although I thought some of the flames inside the buildings appeared to be appropriately placed jets of burning gas. The oxygen masks were very loose fitting and I wondered how efficient they would be in the smoke-filled rooms. Actors talking through masks are difficult to hear and I had some problems here, but I got the meaning.
There is a tearful ending at a funeral service when Captain Mike Kennedy (John Travolta in a supporting role)) recounts the courage of all firemen inviting the congregation to stand in their honour. He remembered the day when Jack Morrison started as a rookie fireman sweeping the floors when things were quiet and handling the nozzle of the hoses when in action. From those early days he climbed the ladder to recognition for his courage and unforgettable bravery.
This film will make every fireman feel good about himself, although he may have a quiet chuckle at some of the techniques used in fighting fires in buildings on the point of collapse.