Very well executed

Better than most people think

It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.

Mostly, the movie is committed to the value of a good time.

Ron Howard's 1991 action-drama "Backdraft" is one of the actor-turned-director's earliest and most magnificent of action-drama epics, in that it shows Howard's conceptual grasp of the story, the characters and more characteristic of much of his later work, his technical mastery of visually impressive (if not necessarily groundbreaking) special effects work - as well as an incredible technical accuracy of his subject matter (well, about as accurate as a movie such as this can possibly be).Human performances often tend to get lost in a spectacle such as "Backdraft," but the ensemble cast (some of whom surely do get more screen-time than others) and their respective personal dramas and complex relationships are able to match the spectacular pyrotechnic special effects sequences, which still hold up incredibly well 26 years later and have yet to be topped by today's overblown CGI special effects-laden blockbuster vehicles."Backdraft" is a big-budget action story about firefighters - and also written by a former firefighter, "Highlander" Gregory Widen - specifically those in the Chicago Fire Department, Station 17, the toughest "smoke-eaters" in the city. The film's title, as you may not know, refers to the real-life phenomenon of when a fire breaks out in a confined area, deprives itself of oxygen (but does not die out, it gets "snuffed"), and explodes with a violent fury when suddenly exposed to a massive rush of air.A mysterious serial arsonist is loose in the city, setting deadly "backdraft" fires that are so powerful, they blow themselves out long before the first fire engine shows up to try to extinguish the raging blaze. This arsonist goes to elaborate lengths to ensure the fires burn themselves out, while also making them look like terrible accidents. These same "backdraft" fires ultimately claim the lives of three men, but no one can establish a connection between them and why they were killed in the first place.But this murder mystery aspect of the story is just one of many stories being told here. The real meat of "Backdraft" concerns quarreling brothers Stephen McCaffrey (Kurt Russell) and his younger brother Brian McCaffrey (William Baldwin). As a child in 1971, Brian witnessed the death of their father on what was a routine firefighting job, and he even made the Pulitzer Prize-winning cover of a famous issue of "Life" magazine a year afterward. 20 years later, Stephen is a lieutenant at Station 17, and Brian has just graduated from the fire academy after failing out of several other professions; firefighting appears to be his one true calling, but he remains in the shadow of his older brother. Stephen manages to pull some strings in order to get Brian assigned to Station 17 with him and veteran firefighter John Adcox (Scott Glenn), who also knew and served with their late father and was like an uncle to the two boys.The two men have a strained relationship dating back to the death of their father and the way that their lives took wildly divergent directions as the years went by. Stephen shows a blatant disregard for well-established safety procedures, charging head-first, and mask-less, into fires where obviously any number of things can go wrong. This worries his teammates and has even caused Stephen to separate from his wife Helen (Rebecca De Mornay), who fears his reckless and dangerous ways and the effect it could have on their young son. Eventually, tensions come to a head between Stephen and Brian, and Brian quits Station 17 and, through his former flame Jennifer Vaitkus (Jennifer Jason Leigh), he goes to work with arson investigator Donald Rimgale (Robert De Niro), who is currently investigating the string of serial arsons. They turn to an incarcerated pyromaniac, Ronald Bartel (ever-creepy Donald Sutherland), whose M.O. provides them some valuable clues as to the killer's identity (a la, Dr. Hannibal Lecter in "The Silence of the Lambs," which came out earlier that same year).As I stated earlier, "Backdraft" is a masterpiece of technical pyrotechnic special effects wizardry. The film portrays fire as a living entity, one that "lives, breathes, and kills and the only way to truly kill it, is to love it a little." I've yet to see another film in the years since "Backdraft's" release in 1991 to bring fire to life on the screen the way that this movie does. This goes to show that Ron Howard was by no means working with an inexperienced special effects crew - Industrial Light & Magic (ILM), of all places. If anyone could get the job done and done right, it was ILM. One of the most eerie, yet spectacular sequences involves a flame being moved by air rushing from an open vent, like a snake reaching for the ceiling.Having seen the film today for the first time in several years, I'm still gosh-wowed at how "Backdraft" was made, the firefighting training that the performers surely had to endure, and the way that the pyrotechnics were achieved as to look realistic enough to film. The picture still looks great - Mikael Solomon's crystal-clear cinematography still holds up well today - and the picture looks even better on Blu-ray DVD, which is what I watched the film on."Backdraft" is an excellent action-drama that also doubles as a thrilling whodunit. If there was ever a better movie about firefighters, then it hasn't been made by Hollywood.9/10

It is nice to see an action movie that is about civil service and not about the police isn't it? Kind of refreshing. Cop, cop, cop, cop, cop, cop, cop, firemen.I might be bias, my brother-in-law is a firefighter...but I never really liked him, and I loved this movie long before I met him.There are a lot of people here criticizing it because "the fire is the real star." All I have to say is that they are right, just like the action is the real star in a lot of movies. I mean, wasn't the car the real star in "Bullet?" The car is sort of the star in "Supernatural" too, isn't it...and besides, how many movies have you seen that star fire and well, it's so cool in a pyromania action adventure sort of way.They also say it is full of clichés and, well, they are right on that count too. BUT, well, a lot of other action movies are wall-to-wall clichés and have cops and guns and are loved. This is the same thing only with fire, and should be loved for the same reasons.At least clichés with fire is far more original than clichés with guns in the action movie trope.The acting isn't as melodramatic as people say. There are one or two scenes where, yeah, everyone has to admit that they are over-the-top, but on the whole we still see a lot of naturalistic acting.What you have here is just a fun movie...but it is a fun movie written by Gregory Widen and he really is a great screen writer with some truly original and fun ideas. You see his name attached as a writer and you know you're in for a fun time. It's just a shame the people that wrote the sequels to his films ruined his career.

As a child, Brian McCafferty watched his fire-fighter father die.He joins his brother, Steven in the force by becoming a fire-fighter. There is a history of conflict between the two that is heated up by working together.A series of suspicious fires are set, each made to kill a specific person. After becoming unnerved during a fire, Brian pulls strings to get into an investigative office.But he is now not putting out the arsonist's fires, but trying to track him down.....It's the cinematic equivalent of Baywatch, fire fighting is sexy and cool, but makes the person a little edgier, because it's dangerous.And at the end of the day, every goes to a bar, and gets drunk and acts really happy. Because they are. They have beautiful homes, beautiful families and life is just peachy.Or so Ron Howard would have you believe.It's the type of film where the lead character has a boat, and you will find him there drinking beer.It's the kind of film that guest stars Robert De Niro, because he's prolific, but on the wain slightly.Add a silly sub plot involving arson, and you get a decidedly average movie.At least the flames look good, and Russell is on fire (ha ha), as usual.

This is one of Ron Howard's best movies, but it is viewed by many as one of his worst. The fact is, it is indeed one of his best. The characters are perhaps a bit simple, with simple perspectives, but this a movie about firemen. From Ron Howards perspective, these are simple people who risk their lives because they love the rush. But within this community there is one individual who starts fires for the rush. Who and why? That is the challenge for the viewer and the answer is the whole point of the movie. Most critics miss the point of the whole movie and think this is a movie about two brothers who don't get along and are in competition. Then the movie is indeed superficial and not all that interesting.Treat this movie as a mystery, and you will appreciate the plot. The acting is excellent, the music is superb and the scenes involving fire are unique and engrossing. Enjoy the movie for what it is. Don't complain about what it was never intended to be. Anyone who looks at this movie as Greek tragedy deserves to be disappointed. This is great entertainment.