The Lost Bus is a well-directed, often thrilling, and believably acted film that I didn't buy one bit. It features a great, deeply moving performance from Matthew McConaughey that belongs in a better picture. Equally impressive are the fire effects, and the way director Paul Greengrass keeps us constantly in motion while never losing us in the geography of nightmarish inferno.

Despite all this, The Lost Bus just didn't work for me. I could not see past the fact that, while an impressively true story, this is effectively a melodrama without the drama that feels like a theme park ride. Except the seats don't move along with the movie.

When we meet McConaughey's Kevin McKay, he's at his lowest. His father has died, leaving him to care for an infirm mother. His work is a dead end job driving the school bus in the town he was raised. He loses his dog to cancer. His son can't stand the sight of him. Life seems to be slipping from his grasp.

It's all superfluous to the story we're about to see, but you forget that because McConaughey is such a talented performer that within minutes, you could swear we've known this man for years. We see the miles on his face. There's a geography of sorrow etched in every wrinkle. When he quietly breaks down in his home, trying to hide the pain from both his mother and his child, it tears at the heart.

The next day, McKay runs late. He's put off everything to the point they've compounded into a single afternoon where everything needs to get done. His son has fallen ill, the bus needs an inspection, he has kids to pick up. As always, he's drowning. People might like him, but they don't trust him.

Then, the fire breaks out. Small at first, then a raging nightmare that envelops everything in sight. Suddenly, McKay is the only driver near enough to a group of stranded kids, and they need him to drive the children to safety. "Get this done, McKay, and consider us good," his boss tells him.

It's here the film lost me. Do we really need a backstory to justify that someone would care about getting kids to safety? Does the added weight of a messed up life bring something to the story that a life-threatening environmental catastrophe doesn't?

Would the film be any less effective if McKay was a well-adjusted individual with a good home life, who just wants to do the right thing?

As if to answer my question, Greengrass adds another hurdle into McKay's day. His sick son and mother are stuck on the mountain, and he's forgotten to renew their warning system subscription! They might be swallowed by the fire if he doesn't get there in time! Meanwhile, the kids on the bus are thirsty and there's no water.

It almost begins to feel like the Airport-films of the 1970s, which were famously parodied in the Zucker-Abrams-Zucker classic, Airplane!. Only here, it's all played straight. Even the fire moves at the speed of drama, providing our heroes with time for solemn ruminations about their failed lives.

Greengrass is a talented director. He has made some of my very favorite films in the past. McConaughey, likewise, can bring gravitas and spirit to even the smallest part. The effects are spectacular, and despite the heavy topic, The Lost Bus is often very exciting.

It just feels dishonest and lifeless, which sinks even the grandest of spectacles.