Only the Brave (2017)

How sad is this?

Good start, but then it gets ruined

The film may be flawed, but its message is not.

One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.

This was my most anticipated film of 2017, and also the biggest disappointment. The film has your typical American stereotyped characters with typical American stereotyped back stories. I also found the character introductions typical American and dragged out. Couldn't they have skipped the petty crap and jumped right into the action? Uhmmm, then again, the film is almost entirely made up of petty crap and silly character confrontations. They are so annoyingly American. The film is also overlong for no reason. I found myself wanting to hit the forward button more often than not to try and move the film along. By the time the real action started, I've lost interest. The action also comes and goes in the blink of an eye. Also - and here's a spoiler alert - the firefighters move toward the flames, but when they get too close, they lie flat on the ground under their 'fireproof' blankets. The result is them burning to death. Uhm, duhhh!!! What did they expect? Lie there and wait for the flames to subside? How did they think they would survive by just lying there??? This was a big yawner.

I don't normal write reviews for movies but this one is worth it. I have never seen a true story quite like this one. It takes you through all the emotions and hits you where it hurts. It really gives you an insight to what fire fighters do for the community and country. So worth the watch couldn't recommend it anymore!

Only the Brave is one of the most tragic, honest, gut-wrenching, spot-on movies ever made depicting the wildfire catastrophe killing 19 hotshots in '13. Joseph Kosinski proves that his latitude isn't limited to high concept Sci-Fi with Tron:Legacy and Oblivion on his belt but extends into dead serious, shocking human drama while still providing a deeply satisfying and honorable experience with a great looking, great sounding and perfectly written movie. Only the Brave is one of the best movies I've ever had the privilege to watch. It' s a shame it bombed at the box office and was only released on standard Blu Ray but that shouldn't deter anyone from experiencing it. I give it my very highest recommendation!

My wife and I watched this at home on DVD from our public library. It is based on real people and real events from just a few years ago so it is very authentic. Never before had a municipal fire crew been certified as a hot shot crew, assigned to the most demanding situations. Josh Brolin as Eric Marsh leads the efforts to recruit, equip, and train the guys to accomplish this. One of his recruits is Miles Teller as Brendan McDonough ( a survivor who consulted for the movie). Brendan had pretty well made a mess of his life, including booze and drugs, and then found out he got a pretty young lady pregnant. His joining the firefighters changed his life.The movie runs a bit slow in parts, and long at about 2 hours and 15 minutes, but it is extremely well made, focusing ultimately more on the men and women, and overall relationships of everyone, but the fire fighting scenes are quite scary. I know they all wanted to do that job but for me, staying away from fires is more rewarding.