Smoke Gets in Your Eyes - and Your Soul - in The Lost Bus (2025)
- Dan Brooks
- Oct 8
- 3 min read
A wayward school bus driver and a dedicated school teacher battle to save 22 children from a terrifying inferno.
Okay, I’m just going to go ahead and admit it: as much as I like my action with a side of spectacle, there’s something deeply satisfying about a disaster film that remembers it’s not just about the explosions. The Lost Bus swaggered into my living room and whispered, “We’re gonna hurt you emotionally.” Then it followed through. Good for it.
Playing Kevin McKay, McConaughey is in full “quiet storm” mode - restrained, taut, but with a flicker in the eyes that says I’m one wrong turn from a meltdown. His chemistry with America Ferrera’s Mary Ludwig is subtle but effective: two people under siege leaning on each other while swatting down panic like mosquitoes. (In other words: no romantic subplot that felt forced - you’re welcome.)
Now, we’ve all seen wildfire movies (or at least vomited at them). But here’s the trick: the flames don’t hog the screen just for eye candy. They’re dangerous, unpredictable, and often invisible until they’re too close. I swear, there were moments I could almost smell the smoke. And I’m not exaggerating - my popcorn started tasting like ash.
Greengrass leans hard into a semi-documentary style. Which means: the camera bobs, shakes, and flails like someone at sea after too many shrimp tacos. Sometimes it adds to the panic. Other times I felt seasick. True, that’s a stylistic gamble - some sequences border on the nausea-inducing. But I’ll give credit: he doesn’t let you settle.
I’ll confess: the wrap-up written epilogue struck me as odd. The tone shift felt like switching from horror to Harvard lecture. Why the detour? It’s not a dealbreaker, but it jolted me out of the immersive tension. Also, some clichés peek through (the stalwart teacher, the heroic driver, the kids in peril, you know the drill), but if you’re watching The Lost Bus, you’re not here for originality alone - you’re in for ride or die.
One of the cooler behind-the-scenes tidbits: filming happened in Ruidoso, NM, in spring 2024. Nature has a twisted sense of timing - just months later a wildfire ravaged near there. And then there’s the McConaughey family cameo factor: Matthew, his mom Kay, and his son Levi all appear onscreen. Levi apparently snuck in blind (no surname) to test whether he’d make it on merit. He did. That almost feels like a Hollywood cliché in itself - but based in truth.
We all know now it’s based on real events (yes, that Camp Fire in 2018). But here’s a fun quirk: the screenplay isn’t a direct biography. Some moments are heightened, dramatized, or rearranged. At times elements are fictionalized for tension (no surprise there). For instance, in real life, there were no wild shootouts or bus-versus-flames chases as theatrically depicted. The bus was never truly “lost.” That said, such amplifyings don’t undermine the core heroism, just remind you this is Hollywood’s inflected take.
One more heart-stopping nugget: McConaughey claims there were actual “close calls” with flames on set when doing his own stunt driving through burning sets. Kudos on daring that, though I was internally cringing.
The pacing mostly sustains momentum. There were a few scenes when I thought “okay, can we slow down?” but Greengrass avoids the Pit of Exposition. He lets urgency rule. And the tension comes not from cheap scares but from “Will they survive this stretch of road? Can they beat that blast? Will the bus engine hold?” That’s the cat’s cradle of thriller mechanics done right.
So is The Lost Bus perfect? No. But it doesn’t need to be. For what it aims to do - make you feel terror, respect heroism, wonder at human resilience - it does really well. Plus, the cinematography (kudos to Pål Ulvik Rokseth) balances chaos with clarity often enough that you don’t get lost entirely in the shake-fest.
By the end, I felt emotionally wrung out, but in that satisfying way where you want to call your loved ones and hug them. And maybe never get on a bus again.
My grade: 7.0 / 10
It’s not flawless. But it doesn’t pretend to be. It delivers heat, stakes, heart - and a ride you’ll remember.
#TheLostBus #MatthewMcConaughey #AmericaFerrera #PaulGreengrass #WildfireDrama #BasedOnTrueEvents #SurvivalThriller #CampFire #MovieReview #MustWatch
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