The Lost Bus

NO ONE creates suspense on film like Director Paul Greengrass, something you know if you've seen his films "United 93" or "The Bourne Ultimatum". His telling of the 2018 Camp Fire in Paradise, California, THE LOST BUS moves you to the front of your seat and never lets go.

We meet school bus driver Kevin McKay, embodied brilliantly by Matthew McConaughey.

Kevin's struggling after the loss of his father and recent divorce, caring for his mother and his 15 year old son, who wants nothing to do with him.

McConaughey is reliably great in the role, disappearing into a man ready to break.

Alternating between Kevin's day and the howling winds that spark a brush fire the hills, Greengrass ramps up the film turn by turn. As the fire grows, so does the tension.

In a once in a century turn of real life events, wind gusts of over 80 miles an hour push the fire so quickly across the California hills that emergency services are immediately strapped.

Kevin finds himself the only driver with an empty bus as schools are ordered to evacuate and he drives direct to an elementary school in the fire's path, picking up 22 children and their teacher, Mary Ludwig, played by America Ferrera (Barbie).

The initial scenes with Mary are exasperating, as she insists on organizing the children and taking her time, while Kevin watches the size of the fire grow to unimaginable proportions. No matter what he does to get her on the bus quickly, she takes her time, refusing to see just how bad the scenario is.

From the point those children board the bus, Greengrass takes us on a white knuckle ride through the madness of total gridlock, walls of fire in every direction and a daytime plunged into midnight-like darkness.

Yul Vasquez (The Outsider, Captain Phillips) is very good as Fire Chief Martinez, who watches a brush fire become a mass casualty event in real time, no matter what he and his dedicated crew throw at it.

Stage and screen actress Ashlie Atkinson is excellent as Ruby, the bus depot manager responsible for all the school buses, drivers and children. Her agony as the disaster spreads is palpable and Atkinson drives real emotion.

And what a disaster this is.

Rivaling any recent attempt at a disaster film, Greengrass and his special effects team create a terrifying scenario with real casualties. You can almost feel the fire surrounding you.

Nominated this week for an Oscar for Best Visual Special Effects, it's well earned. The camera never stops moving and when it pans out and up into the sky to show the sheer vastness of what's facing our characters, it's jaw dropping.

I loved James Newton Howard's music score that lurks like the fire before exploding on screen. His score during the finale is a powerful crescendo that pushes the suspense to the outer limits.

The kids are all very well cast and they up the tension by being in such incredible peril, its deeply moving for any parent or grandparent in the audience.

Many of the emergency service personnel are played by the real-life emergency service workers who were there at the time of the real fire.

In real life, Kevin McKay drove about 30 miles over a grueling five-hour period through smoke, fire, blocked roads, and accidents to evacuate 22 children from Ponderosa Elementary.

The film is a powerful testament to his bold heroism that saved all the children aboard.

THE LOST BUS stands alongside Greengrass's "United 93" as an impeccably crafted, moving tribute to everyday heroes that stood up when challenged. One of the most suspenseful films of the past decade, it deserves a blazing A by any measure.