He is married to Amanda, a strong-willed beauty who resents his long hours but who shares his sense of civic duty and dry humour. When his Eric Marsh surveys an Arizona mountainside, he doesn’t see the beauty of the outdoors – he just sees fuel. And we are in good company with Josh Brolin, as solid a leading man as there is out there: muscular, dependable and, when the need calls, vulnerable. Initially, Joseph Kosinski’s film is a slow-burn, but its attention to the detail of firefighting – the strategy and techniques used to frustrate a potential inferno – is more than enough. Marsh knew that his boys were more than capable and he was bent on enabling them front-line access to the major fires – and the wage packet to match.

They are a tight-knit group, led by the burly, paternal Eric Marsh who is determined that one day his men will be recognised as legitimate “hotshots”, not just the “fuels mitigation crew” that paves the way for the real firefighters. The brave in question are the firefighters stationed in Prescott, Arizona.

Only the brave cast amanda