Fantastic action drama set in the world of the Chicago Fire Service. Great story with a crime mystery, some political intrigue, family drama and romance all thrown into the mix. The action set pieces are all tense and exciting stuff with the effects all physical rather than CGI and some very impressive stunt work. The story follows rookie fireman Brian (William Baldwin) who is trying to live up to the hard nosed reputation of his brother Stephen (Kurt Russell), a highly respected and heroic fireman. Both live in the shadow of their famous father who was killed in an explosion but they are constantly at odds with one another. A series of dangerous fires that have scary 'backdrafts' are occurring over the city and Brian gets involved with trying to find out who's causing them and why. With a superb support cast that includes Robert De Niro as a cynical arson investigator, Scott Glen, Jennifer Jason Leigh & Rebecca De Mornay as the love interests and a creepy cameo from Donald Sutherland as a psycho arsonist this is a great film, superbly directed, a great plot with stunning action and with the fire portrayed as a character (Sutherland's character refers to it as 'the animal') it makes for a very entertaining film. Well worth checking out if you've never seen it.