only the brave movie review new york times

The effects looked realistic instead of a CGI spectacle and kept this reenactment grounded in realism even as it uses imagery to underscored issues at the heart of Marsh’s dedication to the job. I have the utmost respect for firefighters in general, but there’s no world configuration that exists that will convince me that there isn’t something seriously special about people who are willing to fight fire with fire. The visuals in Only The Brave are stunning and make the point that these fires are a living, breathing mesmerizing force in a way that only serves to deepen the impact of the story being told. I didn’t know much about the differences between fighting structure fires versus wildland fires until I moved back to California and discovered the true meaning of fire season. Using this moment, to introduce the team’s supervisor, Eric Marsh (Josh Brolin) lays the groundwork for the rest of the narrative focus on the members of the team rather than being about the flash and flames. Without belaboring the point, You get the sense that egos and attitude play a large part in the outcome of a wildfire as well as the crews working the lines. At the start, you meet this crew, they’re struggling to be respected among the ranks of wildland firefighters. Given that it’s a tribute to a team of men who don’t make it out, I think that was a good call.

It’s more character driven than anything else. Only The Brave is a deliberate slow build. It’s a surprisingly uplifting tribute to 19 lives lost in service to the people living in communities threatened by fires.

It’s a look into the mindset of this wildland firefighting crew and the community that rallied around them. Only The Brave tells the tale of the Granite Mountain Hotshots in a way that honors both their memory and their sacrifice. Quick Take: Hollywood is almost as fond of reenactments of tragic events as it is of geopolitical disaster movies and the two are frequently treated with the same lackadaisical regard when it comes to the “true” portion of the tagline: “based on true events.”īut Director Joseph Kosinski created a heart-rending dramatization in Only The Brave without needlessly inserting composite characters or conflating the tragedy that stole lives for effect.

Only the brave movie review new york times