That they will be recognised as top-tier firemen is no surprise, but it is how the relationships between these men evolve that is truly engaging to watch.

Thus sets the stage for a good number of scenes which show how the men train – committing rules to memory, conducting deploy drills and creating control burns – which will pay off in unexpected ways in giving context of what the men will be doing in the heat of duty.

That journey to cherished Type I status will see Eric recruit a bunch of newbies to augment their numbers, including the local screw-up Brendan McDonough (Miles Teller) looking for a chance to straighten his life out – not only will Eric have to ensure that Eric does not end up becoming their Achilles heel, he will also have to manage the dynamics between Brendan and fellow hot-blooded member Chris MacKenzie (Taylor Kitsch). That diminished status is a sore point for their superintendent Eric Marsh (Josh Brolin), who implores the division chief and close confidant Duane Steinbrink (Jeff Bridges) to get them certified as 'hotshots'. clearing brush and burning firelines relatively far from the danger itself. When we first meet these firefighters, they are no more than a municipal squad doing Type II fire mitigation duty, viz. These are men with real struggles and issues of their own, and in portraying these alongside their heroism, this well-rounded tribute becomes all the more compelling and poignant. Oh no, as adapted for the screen from a harrowing GQ article by Ken Nolan ('Black Hawk Down') and Eric Warren Singer ('American Hustle'), it is a celebration of ordinary, sometimes- flawed men doing extraordinary things that pays homage to their indomitable courage and self-sacrifice, but never does turn reverent to the point of idolatry.

But this portrait of a fraternity of men who risk their lives day-in and day- out containing fast-spreading wildfires is much, much more than just that fateful incident alone. The elite group of firefighters known as the Granite Mountain Hotshots came into national prominence because all but one of them perished in the deadly Yarnell Hill Fire of June 2013, thus marking the highest death toll for US firefighters since 9/11.

Watch only the brave