Backdraft

Backdraft

Ron Howard’s “Backdraft” is a film that is half in love with fire, it finds the seductive element of smoke and boiling cauldrons of flame like “Fahrenheit 451” does. The most believable, all encompassing special effects for fire I’ve ever seen in movies are here. But they’re wasted on an unworthy plot.

If this movie had a story to match its production values, it could have been something.

But this movie grafts no fewer than three formulas onto its exhilarating action scenes: we get rival brothers; two broken couples struggling to rekindle romance; and a crooked politician behind a series of crimes. Each comes unraveled with relentless conventionality.

Kurt Russell plays the weathered veteran at Engine Company No. 17 located in Chicago’s Chinatown while William Baldwin portrays his kid brother, fresh from the fire academy as a rookie. Years earlier their father died heroically in a fire, and Baldwin (then a small boy) cried as he held his dad’s blackened helmet for Life magazine.

They’ve been rivals ever since Russell trying to prove he is more heroic than Baldwin who just wants to be a man. This has probably been done on screen a few thousand times too many.

Russell lives slovenly aboard his late father’s old boat permanently aground. He and wife Rebecca De Mornay still love one another but can’t be together because she can’t count on Russell when she needs him, firefighting comes first for him and she loves him too much to lose him so can no longer bear the fear of what might happen etc.. De Mornay brings more intelligence into this situation than deserves the screenplay.

Meanwhile Baldwin’s ex-girlfriend (Jennifer Jason Leigh) works now as aide to powerful alderman (J.T.Walsh), who runs for mayor apparently on platform of slashing budget for fire department while mysterious fires break out all over town Robert De Niro plays shrewd veteran inspector who determines they were set by expert to create backdraft that will kill instantly victims with such force that then fires blow themselves out.

If you weren’t born yesterday you may take this information and predict how things go down in the movie. The producers didn’t get their money’s worth from Gregory Widen’s screenplay unless what they wanted was merely some clothesline upon which hang their special effects; which indeed they did receive! We know director Ron Howard knows how to handle more truthful complex plots because he made Parenthood and Cocoon maybe this time he just wanted make simple no brainer entertainment piece?

The fire scenes are so good that I still recommend the movie even though the script is stupid. Allen Hall and his team of special effects people let the camera go right into the middle of roaring fires, making it seem like there’s no doubt we’re surrounded by flames.

What’s especially impressive is how the filmmakers make us believe the stars are in the action. A typical fire scene uses doubles and stand-ins, over the shoulder shots and other tricks for brief scenes showing men in a fire. Then they use closeups of actors in front of a back-projection screen with flames.

They may have used similar techniques here, but they can’t be detected. It looks like Russell, Baldwin and others are where blazing tenements explode factories hang by fingernails boiling balls flame.

I personally doubt that anyone could actually survive such conditions for more than a moment or two even an expert firefighter.

And Russell’s exploits become especially dubious since he prefers not to wear a mask and likes to run bare faced into hell looking for heroism. But it sure plays well.

Chicago is a big city with lots of firefighters, politicians and inspectors but “Backdraft” is totally conventional as an action movie which asks us to believe that only a handful of characters would constantly meet each other know one another have histories together etc. This limits character numbers making it extremely easy for audiences to figure out who bad guy isn’t just written as such slimy scumbag you hate from first appearance screen

“Backdraft” should make its money because it’s such technical achievement that will probably become hit What I regret all expertise lavished on this movie couldn’t been put service more intelligent story real firemen working conditions craft art firefighting.

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