THE FOLLOWING REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS OF THE DISCUSSED FILM. READERS DISCRETION IS ADVISED.
In 1984, Firestarter was a standout film for being a creative thrill ride. As it eventually became outdated, fans of the Stephen King adaptation wanted an update. In 2022, we get that only to be disappointed shortly afterwards.
PLOT
The film follows Andy McGee and Victoria Tomlinson who conceived their only daughter Charlene/Charlie after being experimented by the DSI (Department of Science Intelligence). Andy gained telepathy and Vicky gained telekinesis, whereas their daughter gained pyrokinesis, the ability to control heat & fire. They've been trying to avoid attention so that the DSI does not find them. If they do, they'll take Charlie from them and experiment on her to manifest her powers. Andy has been telling her to suppress her powers, but it backfires when releasing a shockwave of fire in a public school bathroom. This blows their cover, causing Andy to decide they must go on the run. Before they could leave, DSI bounty hunter Rainbird kills Vicky and tries to take Charlie, but she fends for herself with another shockwave and flees with her dad. As the father and daughter duo try to hide again, DSI Captain Jane Hollister alerts John Wanless, former head scientist of the agency that they found the family. This worries him because he knows that it will not go well if Hollister pursues experimenting on her. Andy and Charlie eventually take shelter with Irv Manders, an elderly man who lives with his bedridden wife. Despite being in good company, their cover is blown when he discovers they're on the run via the news and drunkenly decides to call the cops. Although he makes up for it by telling the authorities he made a mistake, the damage is done as they get killed by Rainbird via sniper rifle. DSI agents would shortly arrive to apprehend Andy as Charlie flees, knowing that she'll come for him. It does dissatisfy Hollister because she assigned him to bring the family back discreetly. Charlie does infiltrate their secret facility known as 'The Shop', where she finds her dad and meets Hollister for the first time. The latter tries to persuade her to stay by promising to teach her to control her powers. Little did she know that she already had while searching for her dad. Andy uses the last of his power to hypnotize his daughter, making her kill Hollister and himself, only to destroy The Shop immediately afterwards. Once she does, Rainbird chooses to protect her by killing surviving agents that try to apprehend her. She chooses to spare him, but when she reaches the outside of the building, she passes out as a result of using so much of her power. The film ends in an anticlimactic cliffhanger as Rainbird carries her to safety.
THOUGHTS
I'm always open minded when stories get retold onscreen. And I totally agreed with others when they said Firestarter needed it. Even though I never read the novel, I still chose to be anticipated for what was to come out of respect to prior SK adaptations I've enjoyed overtime. Little did I expect to be extremely dissatisfied with the final cut. Keith Thomas does shake things up with making the violence as graphic as possible, but the story is so fast paced, it is hard for me to appreciate the original theme of how family is worth fighting for. I can admit that I was impressed with the visual effects on the fire, but I would've preferred a stronger approach on going practical. I'm supposed to be excited to see Charlie has a smoking climax, but I'm not impressed because it's hard to be believe she controls it on her own overtime. And the changes that were made compared to the original film only make the whole experience irritating to get through. They get this way because they don't really make any sense to the plot. It does repeat the same mistake on Vicky's body being hidden inside the house. If you're trying to keep your cover, hide it outside in the backyard. They even waste the presence of Kurtwood Smith whose supposed to play the essential character Joseph Wanless, only to used for a cameo that doesn't make him interesting enough, another similar problem from the original. They had a chance to fix old mistakes, only to make much more after this. Like why doesn't Vicky talk to Charlie about how to use her powers? If it was barely working with Andy's technique, she should've tried something else whether or not he would know. I don't want to call teachers stupid, but the one in this movie is when she can't deduce that Charlie had powers. There is literally no way to go around that because you know she didn't have a bomb on her. Camera or not, you just can't guarantee that to be possible. And if Andy is so cautious, why didn't he homeschool Charlie? If that happened, the only thing that would happen would be him or Vicky getting hurt and no one else, which would make it easier to cover things up. Also, when the hell did Irv call the cops? When Andy walks in, he looks like he's still soaking it in, so how long was that newsfeed playing the headline of Andy on the run? I don't think this'll ever get out of my head. And why would Vicky pack on her own? She was severely injured from the burns Charlie accidentally gave and I think she should've waited for Andy to help her. I then wonder why would Charlie practice telepathy on the kids with bikes? I know she needs to practice, but that was way too risky. And if you really want to piss me off, forcing a Pet Sematary reference by killing a cat and burying it is the way to go. To make matters worse, I have such a mixed bag with the cast when I should appreciate them completely like I did with the predecessors. The actors were sadly the ones that played the villains because neither one intimidated me. Gloria Reuben is so one noted when playing the one noted Hollister and Michael Greyeyes confused me deeply when playing Rainbird. He's supposed to be the most sadistic character, but that thought disappears when he claims to see Charlie as a messiah. I don't mind religion to be involved in fictional storytelling, but it doesn't click before. Yet his beliefs save his life because Charlie makes the stupid decision of sparing him, the same guy who killed her mom. However, I'm still invested with the protagonists. Both Zac Efron and Sydney Lemmon still leave a good impression by making Andy & Vicky such thoughtful and loving parents. Both fell for each other in the first place during their volunteer services to DSI because they connected to the relation of personal loss. And with their only child in their lives, their sole purpose is to give her the deserving family they lost. And for them, it's tragic to see it crumble. However, they still succeeded in making their kid strong enough to fend for herself. Enter Ryan Kiera Armstrong who definitely fierce as Charlie. It may have been hard for her to understand her powers, but now that she does, she also realizes that accepting the things that make you different are what make you special. It was difficult to process Andy's final decision to make her sacrifice him, but it makes sense because he knew the longer the conversation were to have stalled, the sooner she would be entrapped/captured as well. Again, I don't condone with her forgiving Rainbird, but it's clear that she did because he's the only one left to somewhat understand her. And if he does, he better be praying that he can stay on her good side for a long time before it blows over. To get this over with, 2022's Firestarter is not worth the time as it wastes it by undecided if it wants to be horror or action. If you like the novel it's based on, save your troubles and stick with the '84 classic.
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