TL;DR – A film filled with tension from almost the opening minutes that keeps you hooked for every spark, every change in wind, and every explosion.

Post-Credit Scene – There is no post-credit scene.

Disclosure – I paid for the AppleTV+ service that screened this film.  

The Lost Bus Review Introduction –

Today is the last day of 2025 movies catch-up before I complete my best of lists [yes, I have said this before, but I mean it this time]. I am catching up on the films of technical excellence that I want to see unfold. The first cab off the rank is a film based on a real event of a fire catching a city unprepared, which does hit a bit close to home as I look out my window at a dry forest sitting there.   

So, to set the scene, the land is parched, the grass is dead, and the trees are tinder in the town of Paradise, California, as it has been 210 days without rain. It is the sort of situation where one spark is all that is needed for tragedy. It is here that local bus driver Kevin McKay (Matthew McConaughey) is not having a very good time at all; he can’t catch a break anywhere. What he does not know is that today is the day that California will experience its worst wildfires in its history so far when wind damages an electricity tower and the sparks set all the grass ablaze. With wind gusting and an isolated location, there is very little anyone can do to stop it from becoming something.