User Reviews

The Lost Bus doesn't exactly reinvent the wheel (pun intended) when it comes to the genre, but with the always reliable Matthew McConaughey in the lead role, it's makes for a competent enough action/thriller.

奥斯卡最佳视效提名。就成片效果来看，提名最佳视效还是有点水了。 greengrass拍这种真实灾难事件的传记剧情片已经是老手了，本片算是中规中矩。以为是借鉴去年的加州山火拍的，结果是2018年的事儿了，真是山火不断啊……

This film chillingly recreates the experience of the most devastating wildfire in California history, following a school bus full of children that becomes imperiled, along with the organized response by various organizations. However, the characters portrayed by Matthew McConaughey and America Ferrera are less interesting than they should have been considering the amount of time they're on-screen.

The Lost Bus had me for a moment just because the production side is surprisingly strong. I’m not joking — the fire effects look way better than I expected. Those wide shots with the flames licking up the side of the road, the smoke swallowing everything, the sparks flying around the characters… easily the best part of the movie. The chaos in the big fire sequence actually feels real, like you can almost smell the burning plastic and hear that awful crackling in your ears. It’s one of the few moments where the film genuinely pulls you in instead of just telling you “things are bad.”The problem is, everything outside those moments feels kind of flat. Since I’m avoiding spoilers, I won’t go into the plot details, but the story never gets as intense as the visuals promise. The characters don’t have much weight to them — they’re more like pieces the film moves around instead of people reacting to a terrifying situation. You get hints of personality here and there, but nothing that really sticks. And the pacing… it just drifts. There are stretches where it feels like the movie is waiting for the next fire scene because it doesn’t know what to do in between.What’s frustrating is that the atmosphere is actually great when things go wrong. The darkness, the glow of the flames, the shaky lights inside the bus — all of it sets the mood perfectly. But mood alone can’t carry a whole film. I kept wanting something — a bigger emotional punch, a sharper twist, a moment that made the chaos feel meaningful — and it never really **** yeah, for me it lands around a 5/10. Not terrible, not unwatchable, just a movie where the effects team absolutely did their job, but the story couldn’t keep up with them.

"The Lost Bus" is a fairly decent film that fits comfortably within the genres of tragedy and disaster cinema, yet it doesn't quite manage to distinguish itself from its **** characters and their development are one of the film's weaker points. The performances often feel unconvincing, particularly in scenes featuring group dialogues with more than three people. In these moments, the exchanges come across as artificial and forced, breaking the audience's immersion.However, the most significant and personally distracting issue lies in the camera work. While a shaky camera can be an effective tool for conveying chaos and realism in action sequences—such as the forest fire scenes or the bus rides—its use here is excessive and often unjustified. I revisited the film to confirm this, and it holds true. Scenes that should be stable, like those outside the gas station or inside the pharmacy, are plagued by an incessant shake that unnecessarily disorients the audience. The close-up shots inside the helicopter are another prime example of this misguided technique. In an age where content creators on platforms like TikTok and YouTube routinely achieve superior focus and stability, this directorial choice feels less like an artistic decision and more like a technical flaw that undermines the film's professionalism.

(Mauro Lanari) "I want you all to breathe in this beautiful vista. Breathe it in deeply. 'Cause after you all get baptized, you're never gonna be able to look out into the wilds and see that pure beauty again. Once you get a real hard taste of the bìtch at work, there's only one thing you're gonna be able to see, and that's fuel": Josh Brolin in "Only the Brave" (Kosinski 2017), account of the death of 19 firefighters. In "The Lost Bus," Greengrass doesn't tell the story of the 85 victims of the Camp Fire and even less so the ferocity of nature: he progressively focuses only on the lead couple with their ever-so-unique dysfunctional families behind, and sets them in a fire just for the sake of factual accuracy. McConaughey's character must have fireproof lungs if he's standing in the middle of the flames with his mouth open for about two hours.

Thanks to the nuanced and mature performances of Matthew McConaughey and America Ferrera, who bring three-dimensional and vivid characters to life, The Lost Bus succeeds in evoking a profound emotional response from start to finish.

Amazing, sound design makes it truly epic. Where’s the cinema run tho Apple??

Um novo "enchente quem salvará nossos filhos" versão Charizard. SAlvo pelas atuações do motorista e da sensacional Ferrera, mas sem o clima de claustrofobia visto naquele: uma manobra arriscada e pronto, tudo resolvido. Precisava tanto drama? E ainda falha por não humanizar histórias de vidas de pirralhos, se morressem todos carbonizados, ninguém iria sentir falta.

A docudrama about a mega wildfire that only Paul Greengrass could have delivered, for better and for worse. The performances are decent, especially that of Matthew McConaughey, but the characters are dull and boring. To make the story more engaging?, the script adds a series of melodramatic scenes that only seek to manipulate (was it really necessary showing the protagonist taking his dog to be put down the day before the disaster?). The overdramatic music is also very distracting. Of course, there is tension and some great use of CGI, however, the whole "documentary" part feels quite stiff and expository.

Review: THE LOST BUS is a triumphant/stress-inducing thrill ride set against the backdrop of tragic and terrifying real-life events. The human story at the center of The Lost Bus is inspiring and you'll care about the characters. Be ready for the typical Greengrass shaky cam.

A bit to Hollywood with to many special effects. Was expecting more and it did not deliver. Acting was less than average.

"The Lost Bus" is a propulsive and heart-pounding disaster thriller that combines the excitement of an old-school disaster spectacle with a fly-on-the-wall portrait of institutions struggling to function in the face of a calamity. Paul Greengrass has long been fascinated with real-world stories where ordinary people face extraordinary, high-stakes situations. From "Bloody Sunday" to "United 93" to "Captain Phillips" to "22 July," his signature handheld realism and documentary-like urgency amplify the tension while never losing sight of human resilience. In "The Lost Bus," he turns his camera to the 2018 Camp Fire, the deadliest wildfire in California history, adapting Lizzie Johnson’s book Paradise: One Town’s Struggle to Survive an American Wildfire into a harrowing yet inspiring survival drama. At the center is Kevin McKay (Matthew McConaughey), a struggling bus driver who is drowning in personal burdens: he is divorced, distanced from his son, caring for his ailing mother, and watching his beloved dog fade away. He’s a man who can’t catch a break. When the Camp Fire explodes near the town of Paradise, he faces a fateful decision: rush home to protect his sick child or answer the call to shepherd 23 stranded schoolchildren and their teacher, Mary Ludwig (America Ferrera), to safety. Choosing duty over self, Kevin climbs behind the wheel of the bus, unknowingly embarking on one of the most terrifying rides of his life. What follows is a hellish odyssey through flames, smoke, and collapsing infrastructure. Greengrass captures the evacuation with his trademark urgency: the camera vibrates with the chaos of traffic jams, the panic of families separated, and the claustrophobic fear of children who don’t fully grasp the danger but feel it in their bones. Ferrera’s Mary becomes the emotional anchor, calming her students while supporting Kevin’s increasingly desperate navigation. Together, they embody the film’s beating heart — two ordinary people rising to the extraordinary. The screenplay, co-written by Greengrass and Brad Ingelsby (master of HBO limited series Mare of Easttown and Task), wisely intercuts Kevin and Mary’s struggle with the broader firefighting efforts, giving context to the impossible scale of the disaster. Supporting actors Yul Vazquez and Ashlie Atkinson bring humanity to the townspeople caught in the chaos, reminding us that Paradise was not just a town, but a community torn apart in a matter of hours. McConaughey delivers one of his best and most grounded performances in years. Stripped of swagger, he plays Kevin as weary but determined, a man who finds purpose in protecting these children even as his own life crumbles. Ferrera matches him with quiet strength, embodying both a teacher’s instinct and a surrogate mother’s care. Together, they carry the film’s emotional weight. The production, co-produced by Jason Blum and Jamie Lee Curtis, never shies away from the horror. The fire itself is rendered with chilling realism, a wall of flame that feels less like a natural disaster and more like a living, consuming monster. At times, the experience borders on horror cinema, but Greengrass’ steady hand keeps the focus on survival, not spectacle. Cinematographer Pal Ulvik Rokseth’s handheld camera work in the Barry Ackroyd docudrama style, some really slick editing from William Goldenberg and canny use of real news footage, combined with impressive CGI, give it all a pulse-raisingly immersive quality, like a plunge into the fiery underworld of California. If there’s a flaw, it’s that the film occasionally leans too heavily on the mechanics of the escape, leaving some character arcs underdeveloped. Still, the momentum rarely falters, and the sheer stakes of watching a bus full of children navigate through an inferno are more than enough to keep audiences gripped. Ultimately, "The Lost Bus" is more than a survival story. It’s a testament to courage, community, and sacrifice in the face of unthinkable devastation. Anchored by McConaughey and Ferrera and guided by Greengrass’ unflinching eye, it’s a film that reminds us of the human capacity to endure and to protect, even when the world.

A film with lots of tension and drama. Well acted in the main, with decent direction and spectacular special effects. Based on a true story. Lots of brave people! As someone who travels extensively, I really hope I never get caught in a fire like that. I liked this film and would watch it again!

No fim das contas, O Ônibus Perdido é um filme sobre coragem, mas também sobre limite. O limite entre o real e o encenado, entre o humano e o heróico, entre a emoção genuína e o melodrama. Greengrass acerta ao construir um retrato visceral de um dia infernal, mas se perde quando tenta revestir a tragédia de uma grandeza emocional que não precisa de adornos. Ainda assim, é impossível terminar o filme sem sentir o impacto da jornada de Kevin e Mary — e sem pensar em quantas histórias como essa ficaram perdidas no fogo que o filme tenta, de alguma forma, manter aceso.

Greetings from Lithuania. "The Lost Bus" (2025) is a movie made by Paul Greengrass. I've enjoyed almost all of of his movie previously, so I've watched "The Lost Bus" with a bit of expectation on Apple TV. And i really enjoyed this movie. I was surprised of much I've got involved into this simple yet heroic and at the same time horrific story. Acting by Matthew McConaughey and America Ferrera were really good - clearly they weren't here just for paychecks - both turned in very solid performances. Directing by Paul Greengrass was very solid here - not a lot of his trademark shaky camera was present. Overall, "The Lost Bus" is simple but true and very heroic story solidly told. Film was very believable with presenting wildfire - i thought i could felt the heat and smoke at the end. All in all this is a good movie.

Matthew McConaughey plays a school bus driver who also has issues with his son (played by his real offspring Levi). Suddenly, he and one teacher (America Ferrera) have to drive 22 students thru blazing terror during the 2018 Camp Fire in Paradise, CA. This is based on a true story, but since the director is Paul Greengrass (best known for the Bourne action films), you can expect the addition of some lethal threats and close calls. Even though the story is hindered by some cliches and the action slows for personal moments, McConaughey and Ferrera do a good job of capturing the stress. Actually, the scenes of the infernos and its spread are most impressive. While there are certainly moments of tension, the story meanders, but it still creates a captivating ride.Since this was from Apple, it only played theaters for 2 weeks, which is a shame because it deserved to be seen on a big screen for the full effect of the fire’s immersion.