9/11 left us all with a feeling of patriotism and love for our police force, our emergency service and our firefighters. That love for our firefighters that has helped shows such as Rescue Me become popular also carries Ladder 49, a story about a Baltimore-based fire department. The success of Ladder 49 lies in its ability to make you feel for the firefighters. The failure of Ladder 49 is that it never develops any of its characters into anything concrete. The movie is not a total failure, but not a complete success either. Ladder 49 is worth going to see, but prepare for a lot of cheesiness and tear-jerking moments.This movie centers on Baltimore firefighter Jack Morrison, played by Joaquin Phoenix (The Village). After performing a daring rescue from a 20-story burning building, Morrison gets trapped inside. Injured and unsure about his future, Morrison begins to reflect back on his life as a firefighter. These flashbacks - intermixed with frequent movements back into the rescue effort to get him out of the building - does show his progression from a green rookie on the force, through his initiation by the other station members in a fraternity-esque manner, to a ten-plus-year veteran of the station. While the humor seems to come out every once in a while in this progression, the movie is mostly full of undeveloped characters and sappy, cheesy moments that will leave even those with lactose intolerance a little queasy.

There are basically only two other characters in this movie worth mentioning. There is the captain of the firehouse, Mike Kennedy, played by John Travolta (Phenomenon). Although known for his sappy movies at times, Travolta puts in a pretty weak performance in Ladder 49. The only reason we know he is even a captain in this movie is the occasionel mention of his title. Otherwise, he sort of just blends in with the rest of the Irish-Catholic firefighters in the movie.

The other character is Linda Morrison, Jack's love-interest turned-girlfriend-turned-wife of ten years, played by Jacinda Barrett (The Human Stain). If her name doesn't sound that familiar for those film fanatics, it will for those reality television buffs as she was in MTV's Real World: London. Although Barrett puts in one of the best acting performances of any character, she continually regresses into a simple housewife way too often in the movie. Although she has problems with her husband's often-dangerous work as a firefighter, she never seems to win any of their fights, always submitting to Jack and his wishes.

If this movie is to win you over, it will win you over with its emotion. You don't just admire these firefighters; this movie wants you to idolize them. If you loved 1991's Backdraft, the people behind this movie think you'll love Ladder 49 (they almost seem like they could have borrowed some of the special effects). Ladder 49 wants to show you that ordinary people do extraordinary things everyday by risking their own lives to save people. As Captain Kennedy says, "People are always asking me how is it that firefighters run into a burning building when everyone else is running out. Courage is the answer."

The biggest problem with Ladder 49 is that it lacks that courage of which Kennedy speaks. It takes no real risks. The movie may have started out as a tribute to firefighters and shows that 9/11 is not the only day these people are heroes, but the movie never develops those men under the helmets. Even Phoenix, who has shown he can act by his work in Gladiator as the villain Commodus, at times seems to lose his ability to do more than just speak his lines.

The movie, however, takes even the strongest and most macho of us all and puts us on the verge of tears more than once. I like to think I never cry at movies, and I had to hold back to make sure they didn't come out here. My girlfriend, half of the men, and it seemed all of the women were bawling by the end. If you haven't gotten your dose of corniness from the popcorn, this movie will certainly satisfy your taste buds. This movie will also make you laugh and make you actually think at times. However, none of these factors really goes far enough to make Ladder 49 a great movie. It is a "good" movie, but where Ladder 49 ultimately fails is in making us undersand and get inside the men of the department. If you want to go see a movie that will move you, go see this one. However, don't expect a miracle. Only the firefighters in this movie get those.