Only the Brave Movie Review

Only the Brave is an intense but uneven drama about the real-life Granite Mountain Hotshots, a team of elite firefighters from Arizona who faced a deadly wildfire in June 2013, demonstrating courage, perseverance, and teamwork in the process. The main concern for younger viewers is the peril of the fast-moving fires, but though there are deaths, they're not shown on-screen. There's also a snake bite and a couple of fights. Characters swear fairly frequently (including a couple uses of "f--k," "s--t," "ass," and more) and talk roughly but non-graphically about sex; they also rip into each other for fun. Drug use is a plot element -- characters work hard to overcome addiction, and drug use is clearly frowned upon, and what looks like crack is smoked in one scene. There's also some drinking, a brief moment of nonsexual male partial nudity (bare bottoms), and a romantic (but not graphic) bathtub scene. Josh Brolin and Miles Teller co-star.

The film is directed by Joseph Kosinski, is a director whose uncompromising visual style has quickly made a mark in the filmmaking zeitgeist. His feature film debut, Tron Legacy (2010) for Walt Disney Studios, grossed over $400 million worldwide and was nominated for several awards including an Academy Award and a Grammy for the score by Daft Punk. His second movie was Oblivion (2013) science-fiction thriller, starring Tom Cruise and Morgan Freeman. Now it presents Only The Brave (2017) an action-drama starring Josh Brolin, Miles Teller, Jennifer Connelly and Jeff Bridges.

WHAT'S THE STORY?
ONLY THE BRAVE tells the true story of the Granite Mountain Hotshots, an elite wildlands firefighting team. Hard-driving supervisor Eric Marsh (Josh Brolin) pushes for his local crew to become the first of their origin to be certified as "hot shots," with the help of Division Chief Duane Steinbrink (Jeff Bridges). Marsh and his right-hand man, Captain Jesse Steed (James Badge Dale), lead a team that includes Chris "Mac" MacKenzie (Taylor Kitsch) and Brendan McDonough (Miles Teller), a new recruit with a shady past, to fight dangerous fires around the United States. The team's camaraderie and expertise grow, but there are tensions at home as McDonough struggles to overcome his demons and become a good dad, while Marsh and his wife, Amanda (Jennifer Connelly), work through their complex relationship. Eventually, the team comes upon a massive, fast-moving blaze that it may not be able to handle.

MOVIE INFO
Rating: PG-13 (for thematic content, some sexual references, language and drug material)
Genre: Action & Adventure, Drama
Directed By: Joseph Kosinski
Written By: Ken Nolan, Eric Warren Singer
In theaters: October 20, 2017
Runtime: 133 minutes
Music: Joseph Trapanese
Studio: Columbia Pictures
Cast: Josh Brolin, Miles Teller, Jeff Bridges

Source: CommonSenseMedia & IMDb