Written by: Ken Nolan, Eric Warren Singer
Directed by: Joseph Kosinski
Starring: Josh Brolin, Miles Teller, Jeff Bridges, James Badge Dale, Taylor Kitsch, Jennifer Connelly
Rated: PG-13
Watch the trailer
Plot
Based on the true story of the Granite Mountain Hotshots, a group of elite firefighters who risk everything to protect a town from the historic Yarnell Hill fire.
Verdict
This is a true story tragedy movie. This takes a lot of time to establish the characters, but that also provides a foundation for their plight though, many secondary characters are bland. The actual tragedy takes up much less time than I assumed, but it is filmed incredibly effectively. The movie doesn't try to become too visceral. Also, there are a LOT of mustaches.
Watch it.
Review
This is a genre entry, though it has a lot of runway. It establishes the characters and provides a basis for their plight, but it also delays the action. With all that runway a lot of the secondary characters are bland. You won't even remember their names.
What the movie represents is more than what actually happens. These firefighters were an amazing group, becoming hotshots that fight forest fires head on. It's not an easy task as municipalities don't become hotshots. Granite Mountain Hot Shots were the first municipality to do so. While I never doubted they would pass the evaluation it was an inspiring moment from Marsh when he challenges the evaluator. Miles Teller's character felt pointed at times. He's a recovering addict, willing to do anything for his family. Teller has a lot of development. It did a fairly good job with the main characters.
Also, there are a lot of mustaches. I assume the real life counterparts had them but even still it seemed odd.
I thought the last half would be them fighting the fire, but it isn't. The second half is them becoming hotshots and just doing their job. You know something bad will happen, in these movies they never make it but this doesn't sensationalize it or try to emotionally manipulate.
They encounter a fire and it takes a turn and they deploy. They pull out bags meant to withstand teh heat and lay prone on the ground. It's something we've seen them practice countless times. This doesn't show them in the blaze, they deploy and the scene cuts. I appreciate the movie doesn't try to become too visceral. The after scene is even more effective. Long shots of where they were with a medic seeing ash and wondering where they are. It slowly dawns on you what that ash is just before the medic realizes.
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