I went into “Only the Brave” (2017) pretty blind. I think I saw one trailer, but seeing the actors starring in the film (Josh Brolin, Jeff Bridges, Miles Teller, Taylor Kitsch, Jennifer Connelly) along with knowing “it’s about smoke jumpers,” I was already hooked.
Having now seen the movie: It’s not about smoke jumpers, it’s about Hot Shots. Hot Shots are the firefighters on the front line, battling forest fires. They do back burns, trenching, cutting, etc., to try to stop or redirect the fire. So basically, it’s pretty freakin’ dangerous.
“Only the Brave” is based on a true story of the Granite Mountain Hot Shots and the Yarnell Hill fire. I knew nothing of the story, which makes this movie that much better. Do yourself a favor and go into this as I did; don’t Google the story. Clocking in at a little over two hours, the movie does an outstanding job of establishing the characters and bringing us on their journey through the climax.
This is one of those movies where you want to sit and enjoy the credits, as the actors are shown side by side with the heroes they portray.
Do yourself a favor: Hit up Redbox and check out the flick.