Backdraft

Backdraft (1991)

Runtime: 137 minutes

Directed by: Ron Howard

Starring: Kurt Russell, William Baldwin, Scott Glenn, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Robert De Niro

From: Universal

This is going up before midnight Mountain Time as I was wrapped up in a long online stream. In fact, the rest of the night I'll relax and no reviews (or anything else) will be posted here until Monday evening.

Another example of seeing a movie due to real life events.

In this case, it was unfortunately a fire that happened to a residence real close to mine. It required the fire department to show up but it was not so serious that the entire structure burned down and I'll confidently assume it was not a case of arson. As I've never seen this Ron Howard picture before and no one was harmed in that blaze, this was my Friday night viewing. Plus, it is my second movie in a row set & filmed in Chicago.

The movie follows a pair of siblings who grew up in a family of firefighters; Kurt Russell (no relation) is the veteran, a loose cannon who takes many risks but has not yet been... burned, literally or figuratively. William Baldwin new to the crew, giving this line of work another shot after bouncing from job to job. Due to childhood events, they have a frosty relationship. Oddly, the opening is a flashback to two decades prior, where as kids their dad is played by... a mustached Russell. I guess it was one less person to cast... Several cases of arson, an alderman who has shut down fire houses and a Hannibal Lecter of pyromania also factor into the plot.

Admittedly the movie is cliché, has saccharine moments and has more than one logical fallacy; that does not even cover the conceit that fire is “a living thing, a monster”, which most experts would say is pure poppycock. All that said, this nonsense still entertained me as it was easy for me to root for both brothers even though both have major flaws and sometimes shoot themselves in the foot. It is a slick product The fact that this has many famous faces definitely helps; some of them (like Jennifer Jason Leigh) I wouldn't have minded seeing in more substantial roles. But naturally, it's the action scenes involving fire which are still stellar now. Of course real life fires are much smokier than what is presented in any movie; that'd make it less cinematic if presented accurately. In Backdraft, all of it is still incredibly thrilling 30 years later as it's all practical effects and dangerous moments. As indicated in the end credits, Russell, Baldwin and Scott Glenn did at least some of their own stunts, which is especially impressive in such an environment.

Depending on your age, your parents may dig this more than you; myself, it was blockbuster entertainment I actually thought was engrossing, which is more than what I can say for most blockbusters these days. The parents thing is best proven by the presence of TWO Bruce Hornsby songs in the film!