‘The Lost Bus’ is a gripping real-life disaster movie, drawing on the traditions of ’90s blockbusters like ‘Independence Day’ and ‘Dante’s Peak’, but rooted in a terrifying true story: the 2018 wildfires in Paradise, Northern California, where over 80 people died and hundreds of homes were destroyed. Directed by Paul Greengrass who made ‘The Bourne Supremacy’, it plays out as a high-octane, day-in-the-life survival thriller.

At its heart is Matthew McConaughey as Kevin, a weary bus driver balancing personal crises – a sick son who needs medication, an elderly mother to care for, and a strained relationship with his ex-wife. He’s about to prioritize his family when a call comes through: twenty-two schoolchildren need an emergency ride home as the fires close in. Against all odds, Kevin rises to the moment, driving his bus, and its terrified passengers, straight through an inferno.

Greengrass shoots it with documentary intensity, and one particular sequence sears itself into memory: the bus engulfed by fire, radio communication down, the driver relying on old maps and instinct to find a way out. With two dozen children and a teacher on board, it becomes less about set-pieces and more about raw human resilience.

The film balances suspense with character, something Greengrass doesn’t always foreground. Kevin is no natural hero – more “accidental saviour” than action figure, recalling Dustin Hoffman in ‘Accidental Hero’. But in crisis, his flaws become secondary to his courage. The teacher, initially rule-bound and sceptical of Kevin’s shortcuts, also discovers her own bravery when procedure alone can’t save them.

What elevates ‘The Lost Bus’ above standard disaster fare is its grounding in reality. Unlike the fanciful volcanos and tidal waves of the ’90s, this is an event that truly happened – and could happen again. The irony of driving “through hell to reach Paradise” gives the story a haunting, almost biblical and Dantean resonance.

It’s tense, moving, and beautifully crafted. The special effects are exemplary, the atmosphere eerie, with the fire turning day into night and the sky into a choking shroud. But what lingers most is the film’s message: that ordinary people, when the stakes are highest, are capable of extraordinary acts of heroism.

‘The Lost Bus’ is both a nail-biting thriller and a moving portrait of a community under fire, and is one of the most powerful disaster films in years.