Apple has become quite a beast in the streaming world – even if its platform doesn't compete toe to toe with the likes of Netflix and Prime Video on subscriber numbers. If you can't be the biggest streaming service, you might as well be the best streaming service, though, and I think it's in with a real shout on that front right now.
It's just shown off a new, final trailer for its upcoming thriller based on a heroic true story, at the same time as the review embargo has lifted so we can get a sense of what critics think of it. The Lost Bus is now out in a very limited cinema run, but the real headline is that it will start streaming on Apple TV+ on 3 October.
The film tells the story of an everyday real-life hero played by Matthew McConaughey. He's a school bus driver in California with a regular, complicated personal life, who is on shift when one of the deadliest wildfires the state has ever seen starts to spread at an alarming pace. He's forced to spring into action to rescue a class of stranded primary school kids, and gets in way over his head.
As the fire rages around him, he'll drive that class of kids (plus their teacher, played by America Ferrera) in the desperate hope that he can find a way out of the conflagration for them. I'd hope and assume that there's a happy resolution to the whole thing, but it's a real story so there's every chance of tragedy. As one commenter under the YouTube upload says, it's going to be "intense" for sure.
The first wave of critics has also now had its say about the movie, and it's looking really positive for Apple. At the time of writing, it's sitting pretty on an impressive 86% score on Rotten Tomatoes from over 40 reviews, which indicates that it should be a really quality production.
If it sounds like your cup of tea, and you're on the lookout for a shakycam-style thriller that won't let you out of its grip, then get it on your watchlist in the Apple TV app now, and you'll be able to line it up in early October when it's out.
