20 Most Disappointing Movies of 2025
8. The Lost Bus
In the months leading up to its premiere at TIFF back in September, The Lost Bus was gassed up by many pundits as a sure-fire awards player, given that it's adapted from an acclaimed book which was itself written about the deadliest wildfires in California history.
Plus, with the ever-reliable Paul Greengrass (United 93, Captain Phillips) behind the camera and Matthew McConaughey and America Ferrera in front of it, it seemed like quite the appealing package for Oscar voters and general audiences alike.
Ultimately The Lost Bus is a perfectly watchable based-on-true-events thriller, albeit one that in its bones feels incredibly workmanlike.
The extremely by-the-numbers, expository script allows Greengrass to basically sleepwalk his way through directing this, affording him few opportunities to flex his filmmaking chops.
McConaughey and Ferrera are both meanwhile good, but the film as a whole simply lacks the bruising impact you'd expect from such a fascinating setup, proving itself content to merely settle for adequate human interest fare you'll stream once and never think about again.