Backdraft

Rating:
Summary: Great special effects, plus a moving ending
Review: "Backdraft is the story of two brothers. After the death of their firefighter father, older brother Steven (Kurt Russell) follows Dad's footsteps into the Chicago Fire Department. Younger brother Brian (William Baldwin) bounces from one scam or get-rich-quick scheme to another. But Brian eventually winds up back in Chicago in the Fire Department, and in Steven's Co. 17, no less. They go back and forth for a while, until finally Steven drives Brian out of the department and into arson investigation. Brian winds up working for an arson investigator (Robert De Niro) investigating a series of murders-by-arson.

This movie features a stellar cast, giving mostly excellent performances. Special notice should be given to Russell, in what I think is his best performance ever. J.T. Walsh gives an excellent supporting performance as the sleazy Alderman Swayczak, as do Rebecca De Mornay as Steven's estranged wife and Scott Glenn as Firefighter "Axe" Adcox. Donald Sutherland is especially creepy, yet charming as an imprisoned arsonist to whom De Niro and Baldwin go to for advice on identifying the arsonist. Baldwin and Jennifer Jason Leigh (playing Brian's girlfriend and Swayczak's aide) could have held up their parts better, but that doesn't detract from the movie as a whole.

The fire is the real star of this movie. The special effects are truly incredible, and have to be seen to be believed. This movie boasts the best effects I've ever seen in a non-science-fiction movie. Whoever the effects man is should have won an Oscar for the fire scenes in this movie.

Some may criticize the ending for being overly sentimental, but every single time I see this movie, I get choked up during Steven's last scenes. As an older brother, I really identified with Steven and how he wants the best for his brother, but he isn't quite sure of the line between pushing him to improve and pushing him down.

The special effects alone are worth getting this movie, but director Ron Howard put together an all-star cast that (mostly) managed to put together a movie in which the plot isn't entirely overshadowed by the effects. All in all, a very good movie that's well worth your $15.

Rating:
Summary: Weep for the possibilities.
Review: There are several good things about Ron Howard's "Backdraft"--namely, the truly incredible fire sequences and solid performances by the great veteran actors Kurt Russell, Robert De Niro and Donald Sutherland. Unfortunately, the movie's flaws weigh far more heavily: the mawkish, cliche-ridden script; the almost total waste of the fine actors Jennifer Jason Leigh, Scott Glenn and Rebecca De Mornay (De Mornay at least has one good, if very short, emotional scene with Russell); and, worst of all, the completely inadequate lead performance of William Baldwin. Almost any reasonably good-looking, well-built actor of Baldwin's age group would have done a better job. (Baldwin's role was originally written for Tom Cruise, who would have given the movie some much-needed star power.) Ron Howard grew up in TV, and his is predominantly a TV sensibility. This works fine in comedy, such as Splash and Parenthood, or in dramas with a well-defined beginning, middle and end, such as Apollo 13. In films which call for the director's shaping hand, however, Howard's limitations become glaring; just whose idea was it, anyway, to have Baldwin and Leigh make love on top of a speeding fire truck? This movie should have been an action- and character-driven pop masterpiece, but instead is barely adequate.

Rating:
Summary: don't let it know your afraid! - terrible movie
Review: My god, this movie blows. first off, it's not in any way shape or form realistic. The characters refer to the fire like its an actual person. Such terrible lines such as "Don't let it know your afraid of it!" and "The only way to kill it, is to give it a little love." Are pretty retarded. My dad was a fireman and I've known firemen who've seen this movie, and they all say that it's so bad, Gremlins 2: The New Batch, was a more realistic film. The only fireman that would like this movie are the ones with no life that run around off duty lighting dumpsters on fire and jerking off in the alley when the firetrucks arrive.

Rating:
Summary: Backdraft: cool, but unrealistic
Review: The thing about this movie, is that it is cool to finally have a movie just about fire fighting. Yeah firefighting, I'd like to see more movies about firefighting because I am one myself, that is why I realize how incredibly unrealistic the film actually is. There is no way any man or woman could walk around a smokey room without a SCBA (Self Contained Breathing Aparatus). Also, these guys aren't wearing hoods, their necks would be awefully crispy after every fire. Plus, did any body else realize that the fire didn't really spread, it kinda just sat there. Well rather is sat all around the building, and the only roof collape is at the end of the movie.

I was reading the review before about a guy who was hanging out at his fathers fire station. Well, that's great, my dad's a firefigher too, but where he was wrong, there is such a thing as a backdraft. A backdraft occurs when a fire is contained in an enclosed room where it is not large enough to open any air holes or pockets. As the fire grows it uses up all the oxygen in the room until there is no more. And as depected in the movie, when oxygen is presented in the rooms atmosphere, an explosion, probably not as large, would occur. Although a rare occurance, backdraft is a serious threat especially in urban or large buildings. He was right however, there is a such thing as a flash over. That's when the contents in a room become so hot they burst in to flames.

All in all the movie was entertaing and took an odd twist. For that I give it four stars, not for it being realistic for that I know it is not.

Rating:
Summary: respectable movie
Review: I was a fire fighter 82-83, and i seen the movie when it was in the theatre, i liked it a lot, in fact i used to work but a few blocks away from the china town station on cermak road where some of the footage was shot, it dealt with fire house comrades, dealt with " hero syndrome", i was not expecting a techical as it really suppose to be movie, but the heroism displayed by
the fire fighters are 5 star commendable.