HEROES
Do we have enough heroes today? Do we have enough movies that show them? Many if not most of us would answer yes to the first question and no to the second. Fortunately, two recent movies make the treatment of heroes their strong suit.
One is Ladder 49, which stars Joaquin Phoenix as firefighter Jack Morrison and John Travolta as Captain Mike Kennedy, his boss. Ladder opens with scenes showing a now-older Jack trapped in a burning building and his fellow firefighters trying to rescue him. It’s not clear at all whether Jack will make it out of the building alive. The film proceeds mostly in flashbacks that show how Jack got to be a firefighter and recount his personal life.
Plusses: Jack and his firefighting buddies are good men who are committed to saving lives and self-sacrifice. They are basically moral types who are strong family men and put others before themselves. The film is quite exciting, at least in spots, and we can greatly admire both Jack and Mike, his breezy boss. The movie has a Roman Catholic backdrop with scenes of church services and prayers. The acting is strong enough, particularly that of Joaquin Phoenix.
Minuses: As is often the case these days, language. It’s not totally atrocious, but there are instances of the Lord’s name being taken in vain and a number of four-letter words. There’s also a brief scene showing Jack and his fiancé in bed together—before they get married, which they do a few scenes afterwards. This is a worldly viewpoint typical of the majority of movies today.
Overall: A New York Times reviewer had this to say about Ladder 49: “This is essentially a male weepie about strong, simple men and the strong, simple women behind them, and as such it’s platitudinous rubbish.” Don’t be swayed by this comment, not for a minute. While I greatly admire the quality of the writing in the New York Times, I usually dis-admire its political and social views. If the New York Times is against it, that could be a recommendation.
The second hero movie is Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow. This one is hard to figure out. It’s a sci-fi fantasy set in the late thirties — sort of a combination of Indiana Jones and Star Wars. Sky Captain stars Jude Law as Joe Sullivan, the Sky Captain; and Gwyneth Paltrow as Polly Perkins, a Lois-Lane-type of newspaper reporter. The plot, insofar as I was able to figure one out, is about a mad scientist named Dr. Totenkopf (“Deadhead”) who is looking for some secret vials which are somehow connected to the fact that famous world scientists are dying right and left. Newspaper reporter Perkins is determined to find out what’s happening, and in her travels she soon runs into her old flame Joe Sullivan.
Plusses: This is a beautiful movie. The sets are all computer-generated but look real enough. The color, such as it is, is muted, so the result is in effect a color movie in black and white. Watching Sky Captain is a little like going to an art museum. Another plus is its heroism values. Star Jude Law, who strongly wanted to play the Sky Captain role, said, “I just thought it was about time someone took us back to a science-fiction genre that’s without cynicism, that’s more innocent and optimistic.” Sullivan and his sidekick Dex, like the firefighters in Ladder 49, think of others before themselves and are willing to make sacrifices. A third plus is some interesting commentary about how we have become poor stewards of God’s world.
Minuses: Is this movie really about anything other than heroism? The Indiana Jones movies were about the pursuit of the Ark of the Covenant and the Holy Grail, but Sky Captain isn’t powered by anything very significant. Also, Joe and Polly are not exactly what could be considered good role models in their relationship. The movie has some potentially worthy themes that aren’t well enough developed.
Overall: This is one of the most beautiful movies in a long time, so it’s worth seeing on that score.
My Ratings:
Sky Captain: 2 ½ stars (PG)
Ladder 49: 2 ¾ stars. (PG-13)
Of the two, Ladder is the more meaningful.
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