MovieChat Forums > Backdraft (1991) Discussion > Meh. Not a particularly good movie.

Meh. Not a particularly good movie.

posted 14 years ago by mptnla
18 replies | jump to latest

Just saw this for the first time this weekend and was a little let down. Great special effects, and I wanted to say it was a bit dated, but I think it was just a case of weak writing. The love/hate relationship between the brothers was a little wierd and undeveloped. Rebecca DeMornay's role could have been deleted without changing the movie at all. We really knew nothing about her character and she wasn't necessary. I also thought the sex scenes (Russell/DeMornay, Baldwin and the girl) were just so out of place -- to the point that one of them took place on a fire engine?

"I hope she didn't take my attempt to destroy her too seriously."

[–] Beta_maxxx 14 years ago

I have always felt Ron Howard's movies are no better than a made for T.V. movie.

"Can I wear the mask from Scream while I do you from behind?" Kenny Powers

[–] timgc 13 years ago

The cheesy 80s music, slow-motion montages really ruined it for me.

[–] gabby_bm 13 years ago

Definitely cliched beyond repair. Even DeNiro couldn't salvage the drama of the script.
But the fire was the star of the movie and that was done exceptionally well in my opinion. So with that in mind, this was no different than "Twister", "Titanic", "Avatar", "Armageddon" or any other movie where the acting and script are secondary to the effects on the screen.

And don't discount the power of the music video slo-mo montage found in 80's films.

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[–] Quint (935) a year ago

For boring and soft guys this movie was clearly the wrong choice. For men this was the perfect movie. The thing you dont understand as a weakling is epic pathos. Thats how people acting as idols for men. Indeed thats not reality. But its the most stupid argument against a movie (!!!) that its not realistic. Thats why its art and not another documentation!! Learn the difference.

[–] sage2112 8 years ago

Well it was cheesy '90s music. But I hear what you're sayin'. Yeah the slow motion sequences got old fast, and the ridiculous backward film rolls to portray a backdraft.

And Walsh's character's reaction when DeNiro says that name hadn't been released yet. That was bad.

[–] Obifuntoknowme (1104) 3 years ago

I agree but the exception is Apollo 13 which is his masterpiece. He'll never better it in my opinion.

[–] Interlepos (1784) 3 years ago

Rush was also great. So was A Beautiful Mind.

[–] PrimeMinisterX (8356) 3 years ago

Apollo 13 I think is by far his best film. Rush is also very good though and deserved to do much better at the box office than it did.

It's been a while since I last saw Cinderella Man but I remember it being good.

Also, In The Heart of the Sea is underrated.

[–] Gd5150 (11144) a year ago

Yep. They’ve gotten better with time but still there’s always a cheese factor.

[–] frankzappayay 12 years ago

I liked it but all the cheese let it down.

[–] AtomicReturns (1252) 5 years ago

I believe a reviewer called this "melodramatic and shapeless", and I feel that perfectly describes this film. I like Ron Howard, but I probably wouldn't even put this in mid-tier Howard.

Also, the ADR on this movie was really bad. As if the cliched dialogue wasn't enough, none of the major characters really sound like they're saying their lines on the spot.

If a movie like this were redone today, I'd like a filmmaker with a more realistic approach to do these firemen service

[–] Jones70 (6195) 3 years ago

I agree a different director could have made it better.

[–] HarlemEagle42 (16340) 3 years ago

Between the firefighting scenes, I'm always bored.

[–] Otter (24464) 3 years ago

Yeah, it's a mediocre movie with some fire scenes that are so spectacular it's worth the price of admission. But it really is a mediocre movie, with a creaky cheesy plot and a slappable protagonist, but I've always considered it to be a guilty pleasure.

The fires are amazing, Kurt Russell at his butchest is worth watching, some of the supporting characters are good, and Hollywood has always neglected the extremely interesting world of firemen. And the Japanese "Iron Chef" used the movie's theme music to give the battles of Kitchen Stadium the right overly serious mood.

[–] TroyB (164) 3 years ago

Yea this movie sucked. It was so corny and felt forced at times. Its also really long and choppy. I prefer the Chicago Fire TV series over this.

[–] Otter (24464) 3 years ago

Yeah, that's why I call it a "guilty pleasure", and not an "underappreciated classic"!

But some movies can be fun even if they aren't good, I find this movie enjoyable in spite of its flaws, but don't insist that anyone else feel the same. How can I, when the movie isn't even good?

[–] TroyB (164) 3 years ago

I understand the guilty pleasure concept. I think we all have that. Troll is one of mine.

[–] Information-Police (4188) a year ago

It was all about the special effects which were AMAZING