The Lost Bus

The Lost Bus feels, on paper, like a project perfectly suited to Paul Greengrass. A survival drama rooted in real events and set against the chaos of the California wildfires seems tailor made for his documentary style approach. I have always been a fan of Greengrass and the immediacy his filmmaking brings, so I genuinely believed his signature style would translate seamlessly to this kind of story. Unfortunately, while much of the film works extremely well, this ends up being my least favourite Greengrass movie, largely due to two specific issues: the camera work and the CGI.

That is not to say the film itself is ineffective. In fact, almost everything else does work. The story is engaging, the situation is genuinely terrifying, and the stakes feel painfully real from the outset. The film captures how quickly routine turns into chaos and how thin the line is between safety and disaster. As a survival story, it is tense, emotionally charged, and grounded in human vulnerability rather than spectacle.

The biggest stumbling block is the camera work. Greengrass’ handheld, documentary style filmmaking has always been a defining strength of his work, blending seamlessly with the stories he tells when used in the right context. It worked brilliantly within the tight, close quarters action of the Bourne films and the nerve shredding realism of Captain Phillips. Here, however, when applied to fast paced tracking shots of fire racing across landscapes, a bus driving at speed, and crowds desperately trying to flee, it becomes overwhelming. I found myself struggling to focus as the image shook and blurred, pulling me out of the experience rather than drawing me in.

There are also moments where it is genuinely difficult to see what is happening on screen. While this can be defended as realistic due to thick smoke and limited visibility, it does not always work cinematically. Credit where it is due, the film often feels suffocating and oppressive, which certainly mirrors the reality of such disasters. However, I have watched other fire themed films that manage to create that same sense of dread while still allowing the audience to clearly follow what is happening, and here clarity is sometimes sacrificed too heavily.

The CGI is another mixed bag. The fire itself and the physical bus stunts look convincing and impressively grounded. Where it falters is in certain tracking shots that follow embers drifting through the air. It is the surrounding environments that look artificial, and those moments briefly chip away at the realism the film otherwise works hard to maintain. It may not stand out to everyone, but for me it was noticeable enough to slightly break immersion.

Where The Lost Bus truly excels is in its quieter, character driven moments. These scenes are exceptional, and this is where the film finds its emotional footing. Matthew McConaughey once again proves why he is so effective in roles that demand emotional vulnerability. I can always rely on him to make me tearful, something he achieved in Interstellar and Dallas Buyers Club, and he does it again here without ever feeling manipulative.

McConaughey plays Kevin McKay, a down on his luck school bus driver who has returned to the town of Paradise following the death of his estranged father. He is divorced, emotionally adrift, and struggling with his relationship with his teenage son, who is ill at home with his grandmother. One standout scene sees Kevin, school teacher Mary played by America Ferrera, and twenty two school children sitting idle on the bus as the fires close in. In a moment of stillness amid the chaos, Kevin breaks down and confronts his failures as a man and as a father. Learning afterward that his son Shaun is played by McConaughey’s real life son Levi McConaughey adds an extra emotional layer to an already powerful scene.

Overall, The Lost Bus is tense, heroic, and terrifying in equal measures. It is absolutely worth watching, not only because it tells an incredible true story about survival and human endurance, but because so much of it works remarkably well. I cannot help but feel that with more restrained camerawork and stronger environmental CGI, this could have been one of Paul Greengrass’ best films. As it stands, it is a gripping experience with notable flaws, but one that still deserves to be seen. Despite my frustrations, by the time the children were reunited with their parents and Kevin finally hugged his son, I found myself smiling.