[6]
Director Ron Howard (Cocoon, Apollo 13) delivers peak-level pyrotechnics wrapped in corny melodrama with Backdraft. Kurt Russell and Daniel Baldwin co-star as quarreling brothers who follow their late father into firefighting careers. Baldwin plays the younger brother, embarrassed by a series of rookie mistakes, while Russell plays the know-it-all older brother who can’t admit when he’s wrong. Their relationship is somewhat mended as they work together to identify an arsonist responsible for a recent string of deaths.
Backdraft features the best practical fire action in movie history, with some truly impressive sequences featuring no computer-generated imagery whatsoever. It also features several good performances from a notable ensemble cast. Russell shows more range than perhaps ever before in his career, playing a character as brash and heroic as he is quietly riddled with worry and doubt. Robert DeNiro brings gravitas as the lead arson investigator, a burn victim whose scientific insight gives an almost mythic quality to the film’s elemental villain. Donald Sutherland, Rebecca DeMornay, and Jennifer Jason Leigh make the most of smaller roles.
William Baldwin isn’t always up to the task, but at least the camera loves him. He doesn’t hold the film back nearly as much as screenwriter Gregory Widen’s (Highlander) often pointed dialogue and predictable, stereotypical character arcs. The first two-thirds of the film are stronger than the third act. The mystery of the serial arsonist’s identity doesn’t resolve as smoothly or compellingly as I’d have liked and the film tries to pull off an overly-emotional finale that just doesn’t feel appropriate. Even if the characters and the drama don’t reach their full potential, Backdraft is still a pretty entertaining excuse to eat popcorn.
With Scott Glenn, Jason Gedrick, J.T. Walsh, and an often overwrought score by Hans Zimmer.
Oscar Nominations: Best Sound, Sound Effects Editing, Visual Effects