The Lost Bus

Name: The Lost Bus
Genre: Drama, Thriller
Released: September 19, 2025
Rating: 64

2025

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Generally favorable reviews based on 28 Critic Reviews

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Movie Details & Credits

Apple TV+ | Release Date (Streaming): September 19, 2025 | R

Summary: The Lost Bus is a white-knuckle ride through one of America’s deadliest wildfires, as a wayward school bus driver (Matthew McConaughey) and a dedicated school teacher (America Ferrera) battle to save 22 children from the terrifying inferno.

Genre(s): Drama, Thriller

Rating: R

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Metascore

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Critic Reviews

The Film Stage Jake Kring-Schreifels

Sep 17, 2025

Greengrass doesn’t have you squirming in your seat because he’s manufacturing drama but because he knows when to cut, when to slow down, when to fire on all cylinders. This sounds like a science, but it’s actually an art. Read full review

Phil de Semlyen

Sep 18, 2025

Cinematographer Pal Ulvik Rokseth’s handheld camera work, some really slick editing and canny use of real news footage, combined with impressive CGI, give it all a pulse-raisingly immersive quality, like a plunge into the underworld. Read full review

Odie Henderson

Oct 2, 2025

McConaughey and Ferrera have chemistry and serve their roles well. The endangered children all start to blur together, though Nathan Gariety stands out as Toby, a scared 7-year-old who bonds with McKay. But you’re not watching “The Lost Bus” for deep characterizations. You’re watching it for the action. On that basis, Greengrass and company deliver the goods. Read full review

Peter Debruge

Sep 6, 2025

The Lost Bus resembles several other Greengrass films in that it’s also slim on character (only one of the kids has a name and personality), but succeeds in plunging audiences into the action — which, in this case, means trying to steer an unwieldy vehicle through hell itself. Read full review

David Jenkins

Oct 9, 2025

There’s something of a ‘so what?’ aspect to the film where it all comes down to the thrill of potential escape and, eventually, a whole lot of good luck. Read full review

Empire Helen O'Hara

Sep 18, 2025

The fire scenes are terrifying and may well sear themselves into your brain, but however well-intentioned, the human element is less involving than the disaster they must endure. Read full review

Mark Hanson

Sep 8, 2025

Paul Greengrass employs a peripatetic restlessness to the material, and while that brings an often thrilling sense of verisimilitude to the film, the cliché-stuffed screenplay too often plays against the intended solemnity of the project. Read full review

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