Film Preview: The Lost Bus (2025)

Film Poster

Page Revisions:

(August 3, 2025) Original
(September 28, 2025) New Trailer (#3) — New Poster (#3)

Release Date:

October 3, 2025

Synopsis:

From IMDb: “Explores what went wrong in California’s Camp Fire, the nation’s deadliest wildfire in a century, and how to prevent future tragedies, also including stories of a bus driver and school teacher who helped through a wildfire.”

Poster Rating: C+ / B- / C

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Review: (#1, C+) A simple image that tells some of the story the film wants presented. It’s an uncomplicated effort that doesn’t work poorly. (#2, B-) Although this is a bit more gimmicky, but it does a better job of telling the viewer what the story is fundamentally about, even without the details.

(#3, C) For some, a dingy Matthew McConaughey is enough of a selling point but for most audiences, this lackluster effort won’t do much to interest them in the film.

Trailer Rating: C+ / A- / A-

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Review: (#1, C+) The lengthy moments of quiet contemplation aren’t supported by an intriguing concept. The trailer does establish the plot but doesn’t create much tension. (#2, A-) The full trailer, however, does a tremendous job establishing this as a nail-biting experience of courage and survival. That could be because of the advancement of the plot or it could be the cut of the trailer, which ably uses music and mood to create all the suspense you could hope for. This looks more like something Hitchcock might have made rather than a ponderous bore like Michael Bay might have put together.

(#3, A-) If the film is half as pulse-pounding as this trailer, it could be a terrific film. The soundscape helps sell the tension that is only undermined periodically by some questionable decisions to include wordless scenes and limited references to the lives of the people involved. It’s still an edge-of-your-seat effort that will likely sell the movie more broadly than the premise might have.

Oscar Prospects:

Paul Greengrass has scored Oscar nominations for his films but hasn’t been broadly successful with a film. This could generate some attention, especially in the craft categories, but if it’s good enough, it might be one of the year’s big contenders with its added salience.