[Howard] gives the fire fighting scenes a satisfying feel of terror. But the psychological portraits of the fire fighters and the arson mystery that dominate the film are flimsy, like an art student's dutifully crafted reproductions of the great masters.

| Aug 10, 2022

Although the movie is unrealistic in its depiction of fircfighting, it's a stunning piece of cinematic storytelling.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Aug 3, 2021

Ron Howard and screenwriter Steve Widen have distilled an essence of fear.

| Original Score: 8/10 | Aug 3, 2021

[Howard's] intuitive sense of the rhythms of popular entertainment keeps the picture from bogging down.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Aug 3, 2021

Dramatically, of course, it's utter twaddle, but with state-of-the-art incendiary special effects and a sex scene on top of a fire engine, there's plenty of bang for your buck.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Aug 3, 2021

The movie definitely cools off when it gets bogged down with a murky plot involving an arsonist and political corruption. But it succeeds in exploring the combustible relationship between two firefighting brothers.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Aug 3, 2021

While it is a treat to see this kind of old-fashioned film making a comeback, it's hard not to wish that the story grabbed us emotionally as convincingly as those darn fires.

| Aug 3, 2021

"Backdraft" is a spectacle worth observing; it may also generate a little more respect for firemen, everyday heroes who don`t need the movies to polish their image.

| Jul 10, 2017

The film exploits Chicago's terrain of ethnic neighborhoods, political turf, and glorious modern architecture, but it has trouble when it comes in close to the personal level.

| Original Score: 2/5 | Feb 5, 2008

Backdraft has some of the raw filmmaking excitement that has been missing from Howard's recent work.

Full Review | Original Score: B | Feb 5, 2008

Visually, pic often is exhilarating, but it's shapeless and dragged down by corny, melodramatic characters and situations.

| Feb 5, 2008

Visually speaking, the film does pretty well with fire-as-spectacle, less well with everything else (Howard tends to trot out fuzzy-toned Spielbergian backlighting on any pretext).

| Feb 5, 2008

The fire sequences are stunning, and the build-up to them, complete with blaring sirens and bellowed conversations, has an aggressive immediacy.

| Jan 26, 2006

Full Review | Original Score: 4/5 | Aug 31, 2004

The spectacular fire sequences, which must have been hellish to film, are powerfully enveloping on screen, thanks especially to the eerie effect of the title.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5 | May 20, 2003

Director Howard is so mesmerized by the flames, he squirts formulaic lighter fluid over everything.

| Jan 1, 2000

[The scenes involving fire] are so good they make me recommend the movie anyway, despite its brain-damaged screenplay.

| Original Score: 3/4 | Jan 1, 2000

Backdraft is sure to do for fire what The Poseidon Adventure did for water.

| Jan 1, 2000