Only the Brave

Name: Only the Brave
Genre: Biography, Drama
Released: October 20, 2017
Duration: 134 min
Rating: 72
Cast: Alex Russell, Andie MacDowell, Ben Hardy, Geoff Stults, Jake Picking

2017

METASCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 35 Critics

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USER SCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 102 Ratings

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7.4

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7.4	User Score Generally favorable reviews based on 102 Ratings

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Only The Brave: Jeff Bridges On His Character

Movie Details & Credits

Lionsgate | Release Date: October 20, 2017

Starring: Alex Russell, Andie MacDowell, Ben Hardy, Geoff Stults, Jake Picking, James Badge Dale, Jeff Bridges, Jennifer Connelly, Josh Brolin, Leana Lewis, Lora Martinez-Cunningham, Lulu Jovovich, Miles Teller, Natalie Hall, Scott Haze, Taylor Kitsch, Thad Luckinbill

Summary: All men are created equal... then, a few become firefighters. Only the Brave, based on the true story of the Granite Mountain Hotshots, is the heroic story of one unit of local firefighters that through hope, determination, sacrifice, and the drive to protect families, communities, and our country become one of the most elite firefightingAll men are created equal... then, a few become firefighters. Only the Brave, based on the true story of the Granite Mountain Hotshots, is the heroic story of one unit of local firefighters that through hope, determination, sacrifice, and the drive to protect families, communities, and our country become one of the most elite firefighting teams in the country. As most of us run from danger, they run toward it - they watch over our lives, our homes, everything we hold dear, as they forge a unique brotherhood that comes into focus with one fateful fire.… Expand

Director: Joseph Kosinski

Genre(s): Biography, Drama

Rating: PG-13

Runtime: 134 min

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Awards & Rankings

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Metascore

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Critic Reviews

100

Village Voice - Bilge Ebiri

Oct 11, 2017

Only the Brave is a visually splendid, spellbinding, and surreal movie that also happens to be an emotionally shattering, over-the-top ugly-cry for the ages. Read full review

Chicago Sun-Times - Richard Roeper

Oct 18, 2017

It plays like a classic military story about soldiers from various walks of life who bond as brothers. Read full review

Uproxx - Vince Mancini

Dec 4, 2017

Only The Brave (or, The Granite Mountain Hot Shots, the vastly superior title by which it was originally known), feels like the world’s best two-hour beer and/or pick-up truck commercial, and I mean that as a compliment. Read full review

Boston Globe - Tom Russo

Oct 18, 2017

The film concerns itself more with beauty shots of the region’s rugged, intimidating vastness than with “Backdraft”-rivaling imagery of combustion as art. Read full review

Los Angeles Times - Kenneth Turan

Oct 19, 2017

While Only the Brave is consistently involving and entertaining, that desire to be accurate about a heroic reality proves to be an at times awkward fit with the conventions of this kind of earnest and old-fashioned Hollywood film. Read full review

Austin Chronicle - Marjorie Baumgarten

Oct 18, 2017

Josh Brolin has rarely been better than in this role as the team’s leader, Eric Marsh. Read full review

Empire - John Nugent

Nov 13, 2017

A salt-of-the-earth tale that’ll play well in red states, but offers little spark. Read full review

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User Reviews

jasharkowalski

Nov 11, 2017

Didn't expect much when i went to the cinema tonight, but boy, how wrong i was! This is a real gem that nobody should miss ! I have worked along the real US firefighters, i have seen that spirit and this film captured that close-to-madness zeal and knowing that you are doing the right thing.Didn't expect much when i went to the cinema tonight, but boy, how wrong i was! This is a real gem that nobody should miss ! I have worked along the real US firefighters, i have seen that spirit and this film captured that close-to-madness zeal and knowing that you are doing the right thing. Go and see the film, this is the best thing along with the Wind River release in the movies at the moment !… Expand

3 of 3 users found this helpful30

AnnOnoma

Oct 21, 2017

This film beautifully addresses themes of honor, character, perseverance, personal responsibility and community that are sorely wanting in the Weinstein Hollywood. More stories like this one and you might just return your books to the black. Bravo.

1 of 1 users found this helpful10

Compi24

Oct 24, 2017

Like other, fact-based dramas that we've seen in the theater as of late ("Deepwater Horizon," "Patriots Day," "Stronger," "Sully," etc.), "Only The Brave" is yet another carefully constructed, emotionally resonant look at an event that - quite frankly - every human being should know moreLike other, fact-based dramas that we've seen in the theater as of late ("Deepwater Horizon," "Patriots Day," "Stronger," "Sully," etc.), "Only The Brave" is yet another carefully constructed, emotionally resonant look at an event that - quite frankly - every human being should know more about. Though most of the film relies on building up the characters and world, there's just this air of authenticity to the film that honestly makes it all that much more enjoyable and rewarding to watch in the end. From the incredibly well-crafted performances and relationships established between characters, to the respectful and majestic visuals brought to you by director Joseph Koskinski and cinematographer Claudio Miranda, "Only The Brave" easily climbs its earnest way up onto the list of 2017's best movies.… Expand

1 of 1 users found this helpful10

shpostal

Oct 27, 2017

Hollywood releases a "gotcha" movie with a telling of the true story and tragedy of a group of Arizona firefighters out of Prescott who become certified as "hotshots", the best of the best that risk their lives during fire seasons to put out forest fires all over the parched West andHollywood releases a "gotcha" movie with a telling of the true story and tragedy of a group of Arizona firefighters out of Prescott who become certified as "hotshots", the best of the best that risk their lives during fire seasons to put out forest fires all over the parched West and Southwest. We would indeed be very mean to criticize the intent of this film, but it also reeks of emotional exploitation, and that does the sacrifices of the Granite Mountain Hotshots injustice, all of whom except one who was sent out to scout and base camp at the Yarnell fire perished when ferocious winds switched directions and killed the crew, who were in fireproof bags, but the flames were too hot and their protection just couldn't last long enough for them to outlast the firestorm. While I always enjoy Josh Brolin, a fine actor if there ever was one, and the rest of the cast are fine in their roles, this film spent more time being a social commentary about the lives of the firefighters and stresses on their families, which, after a while, became the cliche festival we have to put up with from writers taking the easy way out. Not that such concerns are invalid- far from it. However, it's repeated over and over - the couples fight, make up, the big picnic and watching the crew harass each other good naturedly, as if to make us feel part of the "gang", as it were. And of course the bar scenes that rightfully cheer the men after saving their town, but cross the line into maudlin quickly. While I am not one who just wanted nothing but a fire holocaust for a movie, there remained a lack of their actual work in other places, details on how firefighters attack wildfires not just on the ground, but from the air, and other methods that should have presented a more whole picture that would have paid respects to the air crews, firefighters who paratroop behind the fire lines and other equally brave people that were ignored. In fact, the only mention of the water from aircraft were when they made mistakes. However, because the movie will raise awareness of the Granite Mountain Hotshots and other heroes in firefighting, one shouldn't dismiss the movie's weaker points. Just spare us the "heroic" commentary, and next time you Hollywood people want to "recognize" bravery, avoid the soap opera feel you seem so inclined to throw in. How about a movie about the Yellowstone Park Fire of 1988? That cataclysm was beyond imagination, the damage astonishing, and the firefighters from all over the nation equally worthy of your attention in LaLa Land, which itself is surrounded by fires most of the late summer every year.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

Spangle

Oct 25, 2017

Joseph Kosinski's Only the Brave is a tearjerker of the highest order, in its telling of the story of the Granite Mountain Hot Shots. A team of firefighters who fought fires head-on across the nation but were based in Prescott, Arizona, the all but one of the men in the group were killed inJoseph Kosinski's Only the Brave is a tearjerker of the highest order, in its telling of the story of the Granite Mountain Hot Shots. A team of firefighters who fought fires head-on across the nation but were based in Prescott, Arizona, the all but one of the men in the group were killed in the Yarnell Hill Fire of 2013. Building up to this eventual tragedy, Kosinski's greatest achievement in this film is firmly established long before the men ever report to Yarnell Hill. Through the nearly two hours before this fire, Only the Brave pain-stakingly develops the men as individuals in their private lives and on the job. Though this film is about a tragedy and contains many scenes of firefighting action where the men are able to return home, Only the Brave is a film about these men in life and a celebration of who they were, instead of a film about this disaster. In essence, it is a story of the men and the wives/girlfriends/parents/children/siblings impacted by this tragedy, which allows Only the Brave to be an achingly human and powerful viewing experience.

From the very beginning, Kosinski begins to signal that this is not a typical "based on a true life tragedy" film. Typically, these films include a brief scene of family followed by some brief bonding before jumping right into the tragedy. Kosinski, instead, takes a unique approach with nearly two hours of family, friendship, and the forging of a bond through fighting fires, before finally reaching that somber day. In the course of this, he introduces us to men such as Eric Marsh (Josh Brolin) and his wife Amanda (Jennifer Connelly). Many character building scenes are devoted solely to Amanda, showing her as a horse loving woman who rehabilitates ones that are neglected and teaches others how to care for horses properly. We see young Brendan McDonough (Miles Teller) do drugs, get arrested, and kicked out of his mother's home, only to learn he is about to become a father. We see Brendan join the group of firefighters, forge a friendship with Chris MacKenzie (Taylor Kitsch) and care for his daughter. In quiet moments, we see the men goof around, make fun of one another, and act like the young men that they are in their private lives. We see them fight fires with great success, even sitting on the edge of the Grand Canyon watching the dying embers of the fire they just fought off pour over into the canyon itself. While much of the focus is on Eric and Brendan to be sure, this is a film about the brotherhood between the firefighters and the people they will eventually leave behind as much as it is one about fighting fires. Never skimming through this character development and consistently taking the time to establish even the most peripheral of characters into enjoyable and recognizable presences in the film, Kosinski manages to make Only the Brave into a celebration of these men as they lived, not how they died. By the time the tragedy happens, these men feel as though they have become part of our own families and our hearts, making the tragedy all the more impactful and emotionally resonant. This is a film that builds great pathos, relatability, and depth in its characters that allows this film to work not just as an action or tragedy film, but as a fully-fledged drama with well-rounded characters across the board, protagonists you identify with and root for, and wife characters who are not just there as background noise instead strong, developed characters in their own right. In having watched many action films - let alone ones based on true stories - Only the Brave stands as one of the rare entries that values every single person it puts on the screen. It treats each with respect and care, capturing the essence of every single person mentioned and allowing the audience to understand who they really were, both in action and in the quiet times.

While the film's strong writing certainly helps to bring light to the real men behind these characters, it is often the film's acting that lifts the film up. As superintendent Eric Marsh, Josh Brolin shines in one of his best performances in recent memory. As we see him express doubt over his life, uncertainty about having a kid, and whether or not he wants be a family man or a firefighter, Brolin transforms into Marsh with all of his emotion, authenticity, and inner conflicts. The bond between Miles Teller's Brendan and Taylor Kitsch's Chris is palpable with the two becoming these two men who, after having so much animosity between them at the beginning, became like twin brothers. In traversing the life of the recovering addict Brendan McDonough, the new fatherhood, and the eventual survivor's guilt he experiences, Teller similarly delivers one of his best performances in a truly moving performance. Delivering lines with great feeling and emotion, Teller similarly becomes Brendan.… Expand

1 of 1 users found this helpful10

section20mi6

Mar 18, 2018

An emotionally driven biographical drama that focuses on both personal and professional lives of the firefighters involved. Kosinski balances the elements of drama and actions in a well-paced sequence, leaving the audience feel the compelling heroism.

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

Rebecca31

Nov 19, 2017

Here's another "Based on the Incredible True Story" movie so get the tissues ready. I'm getting real sick of all these horrific true story movies that tries its very hardest to reduce you to a blubbering mess by the end of it. After a while they all start to morph into one so while watchingHere's another "Based on the Incredible True Story" movie so get the tissues ready. I'm getting real sick of all these horrific true story movies that tries its very hardest to reduce you to a blubbering mess by the end of it. After a while they all start to morph into one so while watching Only The Brave I couldn't help but feel like I've seen this exact movie before. Only instead of an oil rig it's a wild fire.

This particular true story biopic focuses on the Granite Mountain Hotshots. A tragic story and although the last ten minutes is perhaps the most intense scene in these based on true events movies I only wish I could say the same for the rest of the film. So formulaic it hurts, squeezing in as many overly sentimental scenes of the main characters and their families as it possibly can. And just in case you're not already crying by the end let's not forget the pictures of the real victims saved for the credits. Before they become certified Hotshots we get to meet them as best mates and after twenty minutes in I stopped counting how many times I was hearing the words dude and bro. Just to further drive home the fact that they're such great friends with the best supervisor ever, enter Josh Brolin. Now let's meet Miles Teller, the outsider, the one with the drug problem and has now just had a daughter. Trying to make himself a better person he joins the team and the bromance continues. It moves from scene to scene in a series of mediocre acting and a badly paced story. With the exception of Teller and Brolin every other firefighter was almost a copy and paste of one another and it reduces any character who isn't a Hotshot into a prop. Overly dramatic and cheesy, if there was a way to tell this story onscreen this certainly wasn't it. I lost interest very early on and only regained it towards the end. Not recommended.… Expand

2 of 5 users found this helpful23

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