Firestorm (1998)

reviewed by
David Sunga


Firestorm (1998)
Rating: 2.0 stars (out of 4.0)
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Key to rating system:
2.0 stars - Debatable
2.5 stars - Some people may like it
3.0 stars - I liked it
3.5 stars - I am biased in favor of the movie
4.0 stars - I felt the movie's impact personally or it stood out
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A Movie Review by David Sunga
Directed by: Dean Semler
Written by: Chris Soth, Graham Yost

Starring: Howie Long, Scott Glenn, William Forsythe, Suzy Amis

Ingredients: 
Huge forest fires, athletic fireman, beautiful birdwatcher, escaped
convicts

Synopsis: >From the ad, I thought this movie was an action movie about a soldier, but it turns out FIRESTORM is about the adventures of a smokejumper in a firestorm. Jesse (Howie Long, the former Los Angeles Raiders football star defensive lineman) is a smokejumper - - a fireman who parachutes out of helicopters to fight forest fires that are hard to access by road. A firestorm is a situation where air suddenly comes rushing into a forest fire, causing a blazing inferno. Unknown to Jesse, some escaped convicts led by a psycho (William Forsythe) are dressed as firefighters. They are using a deliberately set blaze as a distraction to make their escape through the burning forest. A beautiful birdwatcher (Suzy Amis) becomes their hostage. When fireman Jesse parachutes in alone, he soon finds that he must defeat the psychos, rescue the girl, and escape the firestorm all at the same time. This is a B-grade flick, the kind where fireman Jesse is trapped in a burning camping lodge but manages to escape because - - unbelievably - - a motorcycle happens to be parked inside there, and fortunately a piece of fallen debris looks just like a convenient ramp. It's just a matter of catapulting out the roof despite there being no hole. In another scene, a criminal's head is used to plug a boat leak. The screenplay was written by Chris Soth and Graham Yost (SPEED) and the film marks the directorial debut of director Dean Semler (the cinematographer of DANCES WITH WOLVES).

Opinion: This is a mediocre firefighting yarn that's half DANTE'S PEAK and half BACKDRAFT. FIRESTORM is fairly predictable with many cheesy escapes. But it is watchable, and at least you won't fall asleep. I felt as if I were watching something like SPEED 2, only with a smaller budget for actors and effects.

Reviewed by David Sunga
January 10, 1998
THE CRITIC ZOO
http://www.criticzoo.com

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