Only The Brave is Backdraft in the bush, a watchable film but you’ll know every twist already
Josh Brolin, Miles Teller and Jeff Bridges lead the cast of firefighters whose job it is to save towns and millions of acres of forest from rampaging fires
THIS is the story of the 2013 fire in Yarnell Hill, Arizona, that claimed the most US firefighter lives since 9/11.
It has a fittingly macho cast – Josh Brolin, Miles Teller, Jeff Bridges and all those other fellas who are in films like this (Wahlberg was either busy or too costly, I assume).
Brolin assumes the father-figure role as head of the Granite Mountain Hotshots, a group of fireman whose job it is to save towns and millions of acres of forest from seasonal rampaging fires.
Welcome to Backdraft in the bush. This is a good, blue-collar heropic where everyone has a nickname, a back story they don’t like to talk about and distinct character traits.
There’s the ex-junkie who just needs a chance (Teller), the wives at home who don’t take no s**t (Jennifer Connelly) and the sage ol’ grandad figure (Bridges). And while this is a watchable film, you know every twist already, regardless of it depicting a real-life event.
The script has some humdingers such as, “You’ll find sympathy in the dictionary between s**t and syphilis” and while you don’t feel a huge build-up in tension, the brutally unhappy ending is all the more powerful for it.
PS: Try watching it without thinking Josh Brolin’s hands are MASSIVE.
ONLY THE BRAVE (12A) 133mins
Rating: ★★★☆☆
