Sentimentality smolders fire flick

"Ladder 49" excels in all the places a movie about firemen should, but smothers itself the rest of the way.\nJack Morrison (Joaquin Phoenix), an experienced fireman, enters a huge burning building with his team. The team rescues a group of people but there is one person missing. Morrison goes after him and relays the straggler down the side of the building when, bam!, the floor collapses in a fiery explosion underneath him. Standard movie cliché -- lone rescuer trapped, and now it's up to his brotherhood of firemen to save him. From here, the movie is told as a flashback from his first moment at the station to ladder 49 where he meets Captain Mike Kennedy (John Travolta) and other members as they become his friends and pseudo brothers. The story continuously cuts back and forth from Jack's romance, through marriage and kids and his attempts in the burning building to get back to see them.\nIf one has seen any movies about firemen, such as "Backdraft," they will notice many similar elements in "Ladder 49." However, where "Backdraft" had more elements of a thriller, "Ladder" aims more for a drama. But all the cliché elements are there: the fireman who gets reckless and loses his life, mishaps and pranks in the firehouse and showing off buff physiques to women. Also, perhaps the most notable standard in any firehouse movie, is the fireman funeral procession, an image to provoke profound sadness in almost any viewer. \nYes, these are clichés, but it is in these elements that "Ladder" excels the most. Scenes when firefighting are definitely the most engrossing, and moments when the actors just hang out at the station are the most humorous. \nThe biggest weakness is the relationship between Morrison and his girlfriend/wife Linda (played by the "Real World: London's" Jacinda Barrett). Most of this storyline seems a little forced and moves way too quickly. Furthermore, when they argue as a couple, Linda never seems to make a clear point. One moment she's worried about the job being too dangerous, the next she is mad because he makes a decision based on being there for her and the children. Also, at times, Barrett can't hold on to her accent, being a native of Australia. \nDirector Jay Russell, known more for sentimental movies like "My Dog Skip," wants the audience to think of one word in association of firemen: courage. No doubt most of us already think that, especially in the post Sept. 11 world we live in. "Ladder" shows what firemen have to put themselves and their families through in order to do their job of saving lives. Even though it uses firefighting clichés, nothing provokes stronger imagery than man versus fire or even the funeral processional. It's at these moments that "Ladder" sizzles, but the often overbearing sentimentality of the movie smolders these good times.