Firestarter

Synopsis: A couple desperately try to hide their daughter, Charlie, from a shadowy federal agency that wants to harness her unprecedented gift for turning fire into a weapon of mass destruction. Her father taught her how to defuse her power, but as Charlie turns 11, the fire becomes harder and harder to control. When a mysterious operative finally finds the family, he tries to seize Charlie once and for all -- but she has other plans.

Movie Review:

“Firestarter” is directed by Keith Thomas, and it is a remake of the 1984 movie based on the Stephen King novel of the same name. In my opinion, this is a pointless remake that tries to be more of a superhero movie than a horror film. The only good thing in this movie are the strong performances by its lead cast. Zac Efron plays the caring dad Andy McGee who wants to protect his daughter from the government. Andy and his wife Vicky also have telekinesis powers, but they never explain how they got them and why they don’t use them to help their daughter. Sydney Lemmon plays Vicky and doesn’t add much to the movie but to be the concerned mother and was wasted in most scenes. The standout was newcomer Ryan Kiera Armstrong who plays Charlie. Her scary fire powers scenes were worth watching and were the only interesting parts of the film. Unfortunately, there were many supporting actors who were unlikeable or short lived. Kurtwood Smith was only in one scene explaining the main villain. Gloria Reuben plays Captain Jane Hollister the head of this secret organization and is a one-dimensional villain with no personality or motivation who only shows up at the end. John Rainbird the assassin is part of a strange arc near the end of the movie that is confusing. This film does have a great musical score by John Carpenter. I am giving “Firestarter” a 1.5/5 stars.

Director: Keith Thompson

Cast: Zac Efron, Ryan Kiera Armstrong, Sydney Lemmon, Michael Greyeyes, Tina Jung, Kurtwood Smith, Hannan Younis, Gavin Maclver-Wright and Gloria Reuben

Runtime: 94 Minutes