Only the Brave

Only the Brave is a movie directed by Joseph Kosinski and stars Josh Brolin, Miles Teller and Jeff Bridges. The movie is essentially a biography about the the rise of the Granite Mountain Hotshots and how they come together to put their entire lives at risk to protect their town from a dangerous wildfire.

This managed to be a very interesting movie that brings you in very quickly when the movie starts. It is very well acted from beginning to end with interesting characters and motives. It's interesting to see how the members of the Hotshots' lives have changed as the organization forms and grows big. The movie isn't fully character driven, fortunately. The movie does have a large focus on dealing with the area's large wildfires, which are also highly engaging. It's admittedly hard to critique the execution of certain scenes like the firefighting scenes in Only the Brave when it's based on true events. If I would like to point out an issue that I have with the movie, it's that I thought the story structure was a bit all over the place, but again, it's hard to properly critique a biography movie due to the fact that it is based on true events.

8/10

"Only the Brave" (2017 release; 133 min.) brings the story if the Granite Mountain Hot Shots fire squad. As the movie opens, "Based on True Events" we are reminded, we get to know Eric Marsh and his gang, as they are trying to get certified as Hot Shots, allowing them to combat wild fires in the front line. We also get to know Brendan, a doped-out loser whose girlfriend just got pregnant. Realizing he needs to turn his life around, Brendan applies to join the fire squad and for reasons unknown until much later in the movie, Eric decides to give Brendan a shot. In a parallel story, we also get to know Eric;s wife Amanda, a horse whisperer. But not all is well in their marriage... At this point we are 15 min. into the movie but to tell you more of the plot would spoil your viewing experience, you'll just have to see for yourself how it all plays out.

Couple of comments: this is the latest movie from up-and-coming director Joseph Kosinski, who previously directed "Ton: Legacy" and "Oblivion". In his latest, he steers away from sci-fi and instead brings us the incredible story of the Prescott, AZ wild fire squad, nicknamed the Granite Mountain Hot Shots. I expected a disaster movie, and there is certainly that too, but the movie does much more than that: it brings the story of a group of people in a way that you are completely emotionally invested in those people, and you CARE. Kosinski directs an all-star cast, headed by Josh Brolin as Eric. Is it just me, but Brolin only seems to get better as he is getting older. That guy is just solid and authentic. Miles Teller plays the role of Brendan, an unlikable character at first. Jennifer Connelly is outstanding as Eric's wife Amanda. Taylor Kitsch is one of the guys in the fire squad. In much smaller roles, Jeff Bridges is Duane (Eric's superior), and the ageless Andie MacDowell plays Duane's wife. The movie's photography is eye-candy, and the wild fire scenes, which I imagine are mostly CGI, look very real to me. Last but not least, there is a very nice musical score, courtesy of composer Joseph Trapanese (who has worked with Kosinski before).

"Only the Brave" opened wide this weekend, and I was really looking forward to seeing it. The Friday evening screening where I saw this at here in Cincinnati was attended only so-so (less than half a fairly small theater), somewhat to my surprise, given the stellar critical acclaim this movie has been getting. I can only speak for myself, but I found this to be an outstanding wild fire disaster movie that packs an emotional wallop I didn't expect. I encourage you to check out "Only the Brave", be it in the theater, on VOD, or eventually on DVD/Blu-ray, and draw your own conclusion.

Some great true story movies coming out lately and this one is no exception, there are some truly brave people on planet earth.

With a solid cast and a great true story this was an easy watch.

This really captures the breath taking yet scary scenes these fire fighters have to deal with, impressive true but sad story with some solid acting making this a good easy watch.

Not everybody has heard the true story this movie is based on. I went into this movie only based on what I saw in the trailer. Since it's nonfiction, I knew it wouldn't be your typical cookie-cutter type narrative, but I still expected it, and was blown away by the tragic events, and the extraordinary way it was presented on screen.

This is the story of a special group of trained firefighters in dealing specifically with forest/brush fires. Their primary goal is to save as much land and lives as possible, as well as homes, from massive fires. These men train for years and when they meet certain requirements, are given qualifications to be labeled as "Hotshots," which seems to be the equivalent of an actuary obtaining their Fellowship, or a boy scout achieving his Eagle Scout, or a junior varsity becoming varsity (or a varsity obtaining their Letter). Hotshots also literally fight fire with fire, opposed to regular firefighters who fight fire with water. This is based on an actual crew, their lives and relationships with each other and their families, along with the work they bear, the hardships they endure, and the fires they face.

The most efficient aspects of the film are the acting, storytelling, and cinematography. The movie focuses more on their lives and relationships than the actual firefighting, but it does contain a fair amount of action. Beautiful Arizona scenery surrounds the key players and their fellow crew members as they battle an only-slightly-predictable threat.

Only cons I have are ones I had to nit-pick. The film in an effort to reach out to a wider audience, should have toned down the profanity, which is heavy even for a modern PG-13 movie. A few of the relationship dramas/arguments seemed contrived, and while they did a great job explaining the countermeasures they take to battle the fires, there still is some confusion to their methods, and it would have been nice to know some of the other members of crew better.

Phenomenal film, however, and was a tremendous memorial to these men and women.

This isn't just a story about specific men and women in history who made sacrifices to protect one state, this is about all emergency responders. Just like how most stories about the military focus on certain groups and individuals, but remains a tribute to ALL who make a living from defending other people's lives and liberties.

God bless our emergency responders, as well as our military, police, city firefighters, paramedics, so forth.

Having fought wild land fires in Bastrop, TX and being in similar situations as this movie depicted, it was definitely personally emotional.

I laughed, I cried, but at the end I but walked out speechless... The last 45 minutes of this film had me on the edge of my seat. The way all the characters have a special personal touch to them makes this film all more special! I wont spoil the movie, but bring a tissue box, the ending had me in all the feels!