LoginI already saw this movie but since it was a while back and since I had it on DVD, I was quite eager to check it out again. I have noticed that, even though there are countless movies about cops, there are somehow not so many movies about firefighters and this movie must be by far the most famous one about this subject. It is easy to understand why as the firefighting scenes were just so damned impressive, even more than 20 years later. Indeed, you really get the feeling that you are out there with those guys and they managed to give the fire some kind of mesmerising quality. Unfortunately, to be honest, pretty much everything else wasn't really good, I'm afraid. I mean, they had a really solid cast and they did what they could but instead of focusing only on the MacCaffrey brothers which seemed to be like a no-brainer to me, they kept adding layers upon layers of boring sub-plots. Indeed, you had some romantic angles for the two brothers, some investigation, even some interrogation scene with some kind Hannibal Lecter figure,.... And Brian managed to join the firefighters not once but twice during the whole thing. Basically, it felt as if they didn't really trust this material, that they felt that it wasn't dramatic enough somehow which was too bad. Anyway, to conclude, in spite of its flaws, I have to admit that it was still a decent watch and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre.
Backdraft Reviews
An average movie
Posted : 6 years, 9 months ago on 22 July 2017 07:28
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*swoosh in* BOOM!
Posted : 12 years, 11 months ago on 25 May 2011 09:32
Every young boy going up has a fantasy of becoming astronauts, firefighters, police officers, Olympic athletes, etc.
I personally wanted to be an astronaut but fireman was a close second and when I first saw Backdraft I was completely enamored. And even after growing up and picking a better and more interesting career path I still find Backdraft an excellent movie and brings back great memories.
William Baldwin plays Brian McCaffrey who as a young boy sees his veteran firefighter die in an fire and who later follows in his father's and older brother Stephen McCaffrey's, played by Kurt Russell, foot steps and becomes a firefighter himself.
Brian is pushed hard by his brother while in his fire house to the point that he takes up the offer of a local politicians to help Robert De Niro's character Donald Rimgale find out the cause of a string of related fires but falls into a conspiracy that shakes his world and the fire department.
William Baldwin portrayal is not very exceptional in the film but Russell, De Niro, and Scott Glenn's performances more than makes up for it that they all feel to be veteran firefighters.
Being made in 1991 the music has some remnants of 80's but is almost completely overshadowed by Hans Zimmer's Fighting 17th which is iconic to the movie and later used as the theme music for the Japanese show Iron Chef.
The icing on the whole entertaining cake is the visual effects. While some of the effects were made in post-production for scenes that were too hard or too dangerous some of the flames were real with the help of rubber cement and mechanical ingenuity using multiple flammable substances that gave the film an almost real feeling of fires out of control.
Even after 20 years after its initial release (crap, I feel old) Backdraft is a wonderful film that still visually stands out to modern films and is a personal favorite that brings back my childhood.
I personally wanted to be an astronaut but fireman was a close second and when I first saw Backdraft I was completely enamored. And even after growing up and picking a better and more interesting career path I still find Backdraft an excellent movie and brings back great memories.
William Baldwin plays Brian McCaffrey who as a young boy sees his veteran firefighter die in an fire and who later follows in his father's and older brother Stephen McCaffrey's, played by Kurt Russell, foot steps and becomes a firefighter himself.
Brian is pushed hard by his brother while in his fire house to the point that he takes up the offer of a local politicians to help Robert De Niro's character Donald Rimgale find out the cause of a string of related fires but falls into a conspiracy that shakes his world and the fire department.
William Baldwin portrayal is not very exceptional in the film but Russell, De Niro, and Scott Glenn's performances more than makes up for it that they all feel to be veteran firefighters.
Being made in 1991 the music has some remnants of 80's but is almost completely overshadowed by Hans Zimmer's Fighting 17th which is iconic to the movie and later used as the theme music for the Japanese show Iron Chef.
The icing on the whole entertaining cake is the visual effects. While some of the effects were made in post-production for scenes that were too hard or too dangerous some of the flames were real with the help of rubber cement and mechanical ingenuity using multiple flammable substances that gave the film an almost real feeling of fires out of control.
Even after 20 years after its initial release (crap, I feel old) Backdraft is a wonderful film that still visually stands out to modern films and is a personal favorite that brings back my childhood.
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