Critical response
On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes , 87% of 130 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 8.1/10.The website's consensus reads: "Recreating a real-life disaster with terrifying authenticity, The Lost Bus ratchets up the tension while maintaining a humanist core thanks to Matthew McConaughey and America Ferrera's effective performances." [16] Metacritic , which uses a weighted average , assigned the film a score of 64 out of 100, based on 28 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews. [17]
In a review for The Washington Post , Ty Burr described the film as an "effective human drama" while praising the visual effects. Burr, who awarded the movie 2.5 out of 4 stars, also wrote that the visual effects sometimes overpowered the characters. [11] Manohla Dargis of The New York Times gave the movie an unfavorable review, criticizing the dialogue as "formulaic". [18] Donald Clarke of The Irish Times wrote: "Worth catching on its brief theatrical run. Turn it up loud if stuck with the small screen." [19] Damon Wise for Deadline Hollywood wrote that the film is much like Greengrass's other films in that it is about "ordinary people in extraordinary circumstances" and calls it a "trip in more than one sense of the word." [20] Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian called it as "a dynamically shot and earnestly performed real-life disaster movie". [21] David Rooney of The Hollywood Reporter wrote: "Bringing his characteristic flair for ramping up tension with handheld cameras and rapid cutting, Greengrass illustrates how easily the combination of lax safety standards and fire-friendly weather can build in what seems like a heartbeat into a mass-casualty event." [22]
Brian Truitt of USA Today wrote: "The Lost Bus is a cathartic quest and character study that works thanks to McConaughey’s steeliness and Greengrass’ ability to put you on the edge of your seat." [23] Helen O'Hara of Empire wrote: "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." [24] Peter Debruge of Variety wrote: "The whole movie, Greengrass has been giving audiences the wildfire’s POV, propelled by high winds and blowing embers in all directions [...] This is presumably the segment audiences will pay to see, and if they’re watching on Apple TV+, they can skip straight to this part." [25] Kate Erbland of IndieWire wrote: "For once, zooming in proves to be prohibitive, only in seeing the scope of this mind-bending tragedy does Greengrass truly find his most important story." [26] Caryn James of BBC wrote: "The Lost Bus doesn't have to bludgeon viewers with a message or with its timely resonance. Greengrass lets us feel it." [27] Katie Doll of Comic Book Resources wrote: "The Lost Bus is an eagle's-eye overview of people coming together as a community, and that in of itself is enough for a sublime movie." [28]
