A rookie firefighter tries to earn the respect of his older brother and other firefighters while taking part in an investigation of a string of arson/murders. This detailed look into the duties and private lives of firemen naturally features widespread pyrotechnics and special effects. As a child Brian McCafferty watched his firefighter father die. Years later he joins his brother, Steven in the force by becoming a rookie firefighter. There is a history of conflict between the two brothers that is heated up by working together. With this background, a series of suspicious fires are set, each made to kill a specific person. After becoming frightened at a fire, Brian pulls strings to get into an investigative office and finds that he is now not putting out the arsonist's fires, but trying to track him down. This movie is a chore to watch. The plot and acting are terrible, and watching the first hour is like getting beaten upside the head with cheesy lines and phony drama. But if you can manage to stay for an hour, the ending of the film is slightly worth the effort. There is a surprise twist at the climax and a really awesome fire scene that rewards those willing to suffer through. Not a good movie but it could have been a lot worse. 6/10 Backdraft is really good, in a cheesy, unrealistic, hard to believe, still really good way. A Hollywood adaptation of firefighting that doesn't portray firefighting in completely believable light. In Backdraft, the way that these firemen fight the fire dead head on is really incredible to watch, even if it is unrealistic to a certain degree. I agree that these firefighters would probably be burnt up into a crisp within the first two minutes of the job. They're way too busy hanging out next to the fire not paying attention to it, not focusing on their gear or the task at hand, too busy smiling, posing for the camera, slicking back their hair in the hydrant water, busy racing each other carrying hoses up staircases, rescuing mannequins out of burning buildings, too busy picking fights at the company ball and lighting up cigarettes at the scene of the fire. I don't know if these guys are superfirefighters or supernitwits. But it all works well, and it's a real lovely film. Backdraft excels during the firefighter action sequences. The firefighting moments are about the best parts of Backdraft. They're really, really good. Ron Howard brings Backdraft to life, doing an excellent job directing the camera, especially during those firemen versus the blazes scenes. Robert De Niro is one of the great actors. When Robert De Niro's character appears in Backdraft, Backdraft turns up the heat and gets much better. I can easily say that De Niro's character is the single polished piece, while all the other characters are too one dimensional. Credit De Niro as well as the superior written character. The main character played by William Baldwin is really rather weak. Kurt Russell is a real likable hero as his character was much easier to get along with. Donald Sutherland as well as De Niro's character are both a step above in quality and in so they seem relatively out of place in their roles. Backdraft has really bad female characters. The firemen are playing grab ass with each other so much that it could have used some female dynamic, really. I'm all for a movie for the guys, and grab assing, but Backdraft misses the mark in that respect. Jennifer Jason Leigh is good in her poor part and Rebecca DeMornay is the closest thing to a significant female presence but not very close at all. Backdraft lacks good, insightful dialogue and has bad character development and interaction. Not much wrong with Backdraft, just a really good movie. Backdraft is a common man's classic. Backdraft is easily accommodatingly favorable to the audience. I feel how people can relate to Backdraft and really love it, especially firemen, and I'm there with them. Backdraft is the best fireman film. It's completely agreeable and an absolute success, a thumbs up, wait no, two thumbs way up! It has a good soundtrack to it, and the story really jumps off the screen with larger than life characters that heavily hit home. The flames sure look real, but everything else in Backdraft, director Ron Howard's inflatable ode to firefighters, seems about as genuine as a plastic log in an electric hearth. Howard's particular type of schmaltz works well enough in small dabs on comic canvases (Splash, Cocoon, even Parenthood), but pumped up to heroic proportions, the sentimentality is just plain silly - in this case, cheap melodrama on a two-hour jag.
Philhalf replied
295 weeks ago