Firestarter premieres Friday, May 13 at both theaters and Peacock streaming.
Blumhouse’s new 1980 adaptation of Stephen King’s iconic scarecrow Firestarter features strong performances by Zack’s “He’s Playing Daddy Now” Efron and young Ryan Kiera Armstrong, but the end result is a soft retelling of a story that needed to be here in 2022. from an extra boost to bring him back and make him stand out among today’s superpowered crowd.
Not only are the stories of superheroes now the flesh and potatoes of our massive multiplex fabric, but “young people discovering strength” is their own overflowing well. Firestarter, as a royal story, is naturally worse than other children’s fables, which tend to tend to a family adventure, but reworking this story without adding anything particularly new or making it scarier, just leaves it defenseless and feels completely unoriginal in a mutant landscape, although it is one of the first stories of its kind.
Armstrong plays Charlie McGee, a girl born with great strength thanks to government experiments imposed on her parents (who gave them different telepathic / telekinetic abilities). Running away from The Shop, the shady science think tank that evaluated them in the lab, Charlie’s abilities are far more dangerous than those of her mother and father, as she not only has both their gifts but also the ability to burns. It can shoot huge streaks of flame or, you know, just heat a place while someone catches fire. Armstrong is very good at the role, not only showing deep emotions, but also synchronizing well with the use of Charlie’s powers, the face of rage and the CGI effects associated with them.
Efron is also a strong part of this story, like Charlie Andy’s father, who has the power to “press” people’s minds, making them obey his will. Efron and Armstrong are believable as a duet in love and the best moments in the film happen when they are together, but the story itself is thin and does not serve them. So despite the flaws of Firestarter, which also affect Gloria Ruben and Kurtwood Smith, who get the roles of the bad guys in the style of “Oh God, this is Jason Bourne”, Efron and Armstrong leave their mark with a good dramatic performance.
As for the bad people, Michael Graces is not as weak as the others, but he still feels like a ghost of presence, not a full-fledged character. As Rainbird, a superpower fixer sent after Charlie (played by George C. Scott in the 1984 film), Greyeyes gets some remarkable moments of controversy, but the final resolution for his character makes no sense and only adds another twist. confusing thing about this tale.
The Firestarter waits 90 minutes for the water to warm up, but never gets lukewarm.
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A change in the story here – a gentle reworking of the book – gives more screen time to Vicki McGee, Charlie’s mother (played by Sidney Lemon). Instead of appearing in retrospect, we see Vicki and Andy parenting together, with Vicki advocating teaching Charlie how to use his powers. This slight change was not the refreshment that the story was supposed to appear, but it gives us one of the better confrontations in the film when Rainbird called.
Okay, I got here without fiery puns, but since I’m just human … Firestarter doesn’t have a visual spark. The story seems muted and dry – as Charlie and Andy’s life as a llama seems to last a day (and the elements of the saga are shattered into what appears to be a short story) – and the film’s appearance is washed out, with its appeal. and the atmosphere of a TV movie. It’s so yawning that one can’t wait to unleash the brutality of the barbecue in the end, but even then it feels awkward. The Firestarter waits 90 minutes for the water to warm up, but never gets lukewarm.
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