The film ultimately centers on the Yarnell fire, which at first doesn’t seem to be a huge threat but quickly turns into something terrifyingly out of control. Others given decent screen time are James Badge Dale as Marsh’s second in command, and Taylor Kitsch who is every bit as effective as he was in Lone Survivor which also dealt with men in these kinds of enormously challenging life-threatening events. He’s not exactly a prime candidate for the group, but as the film shows, redemption can be a good thing for a hotshot. The training sequences are great, particularly involving a down-on-his-heels recruit named Brendan McDonough ( Miles Teller) affectionately referred to as “Donut.” He’s a key figure in the story and comes to the unit after a troubled past he is trying to put behind him. He basically puts these guys through their paces in order to get them to the elevated level of “hotshots,” the elite of the elite. They include their superintendent known as “Supe” Eric Marsh, played by Josh Brolin, who is really sensational in a role he completely embodies. Only The Brave, with a sharp screenplay by Ken Nolan and Eric Warren Singer, laser focuses on just a few of the men involved in charting the creation of this unit of fearless firefighters. Instead, it is an inspiring and remarkable film tribute to these brave (indeed) men in a job that is often taken for granted, albeit one that puts you through the wringer at the same time it makes you feel proud.

Although the account of these real-life everyday heroes could be looked at as something of a downer, the film directed by Joseph Kosinski proves to be anything but that, as I say in my video review above. Sometimes a movie comes along at exactly the time it is needed, and that couldn’t be more true than in the case of Only The Brave, which tells the true and tragic story of the Granite Mountain Hotshots, an elite group of 20 Arizona-based firefighters who fought against all odds to contain the Yarnell Mountain fire in Prescott, AZ in 2013 with deadly results.

Only the brave cast family video