**The Lost Bus (2023) Review**
*Starring:* Matthew McConaughey, America Ferrera, Kay McCabe McConaughey, Levi McConaughey, Ashlie Atkinson, Yul Vazquez
*Directed by:* Paul Greengrass
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There are very few filmmakers as skilled at making gripping docudramas as Paul Greengrass. Beyond the action-heavy *Bourne* sequels, Greengrass has consistently leaned into portraying real-life events with a dramatic touch. His most celebrated work, *Captain Phillips*, is a tense thriller recounting the 2009 Maersk Alabama hijacking, where Captain Richard Phillips was kidnapped by Somali pirates. While the subject matter is weighty, the film is also immensely entertaining.
Greengrass’s other films depicting real-life tragedies—such as *Bloody Sunday*, *United 93*, and *22 July*—are highly effective but often feel almost too excruciating to watch due to their heavy emotional weight.
His latest film, *The Lost Bus*, based on Lizzie Johnson’s non-fiction book *Paradise: One Town’s Struggle to Survive an American Wildfire*, teams him once again with Oscar-winner Matthew McConaughey and America Ferrera. The movie tells a harrowing but ultimately heroic true story that took place during the 2018 Camp Fire in Northern California, the deadliest wildfire in the state’s history.
Though as intense as many of Greengrass’s other films, *The Lost Bus* stands out as his most hopeful movie to date. Instead of focusing on humanity’s darkest moments, Greengrass highlights some of the best.
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Much like in his previous works, Greengrass narrows the focus to a particular point of view. *The Lost Bus* centers on Kevin McKay (McConaughey), a single father and high school dropout living in the small mountain town of Paradise, California. Kevin struggles to care for his ailing mother, Sherry (Kay McCabe McConaughey), while maintaining a tumultuous relationship with his teenage son Shaun (Levi McConaughey).
To provide for his family, Kevin works as a school bus driver but frequently clashes with his supervisor, Ruby (Ashlie Atkinson), who consistently fails to give him enough shifts. On one particularly rough day—hours after having to put his beloved dog down—Kevin receives a distress call that 23 school children and their teacher, Mary Ludwick (America Ferrera), have been stranded amid a rapidly spreading wildfire.
As Kevin embarks on a treacherous rescue mission, he also receives a call from Sherry: Shaun has suddenly fallen seriously ill and is demanding to return home to his mom. The tension escalates as Kevin, Mary, and the schoolchildren navigate through the wildfire in an intense, albeit occasionally hollow, survival story that is at its best when building suspense.
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Paul Greengrass excels at depicting the real stakes without the movie ever feeling superfluous or sanitized. By incorporating real-life footage, viewers get a genuine sense of the danger Kevin and Mary face. However, whenever the film shifts away from the chaos and focuses on those outside the fire, the story loses some of its grip.
Kevin and Mary have enough depth to make them compelling characters, but other figures, like Ruby, Fire Chief Ray Martinez (Yul Vazquez), and the worried parents, feel underdeveloped.
While *The Lost Bus* may not immerse the audience as deeply as films like *Captain Phillips* or *United 93*, it constantly keeps viewers at the edge of their seats—especially fitting for this streaming release.
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Speaking of streaming, one of the biggest drawbacks for *The Lost Bus* is its direct-to-Apple TV+ release rather than a full theatrical run. Though Greengrass has previously worked with streamers (*22 July* on Netflix), this film heavily relies on its visuals, and its intensity resonates best in a theater or on a high-quality TV setup.
Despite some of the film’s predictable conventions, McConaughey and Ferrera’s performances elevate the material. McConaughey feels wholly believable as Kevin—neither a saint nor caricatured Texan—and delivers a grounded, understated performance. Ferrera, continuing her post-*Barbie* winning streak, brings humanity and presence to her role as Mary, making her memorable even when the script doesn’t provide her as much depth as Kevin’s character.
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*The Lost Bus* is somewhat more hopeful and uplifting compared to Greengrass’s other films but still plays to his strengths—sometimes to a fault. At just over two hours, certain scenes, including a subplot involving the Fire Marshal, feel like they could be trimmed. While the film establishes the severity of the situation, it also tries to show every angle, leading to underdeveloped side characters and narrative threads.
Brad Ingelsby’s screenplay is strong, but the emotional beats occasionally miss their mark. The fiery set pieces are spectacular, yet when only one of the 23 children on the bus is fleshed out, it raises the question: do we really care about the others? The movie seems more focused on dialogue regarding the fire’s cause and delivering a well-intentioned environmental message—a crucial theme, no doubt—but one that becomes somewhat repetitive.
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**Conclusion**
*The Lost Bus* is a gripping, intense survival drama grounded in real events, bolstered by solid performances from McConaughey and Ferrera and Paul Greengrass’s signature directing style. While it may lack some narrative depth and would benefit from a theatrical viewing experience, the film offers an urgent, hopeful story about heroism and resilience in the face of disaster.
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*Courtesy: Collider.com*
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