Rish's Reviews
This film is notable, if for no other reason, than for having been shot in Rish and tyranist's home town.
It was actually a four-hour pilot for a potential series, and I liked it well enough as a movie and an introduction to a new show. I used to want to be a writer, so I paid attention to plotpoints, loose ends, and new threads. But the mini-series was very nice. It keeps quite faithful to the book (which is one of my favourites), and includes some nice twists.
Charlie McGee, who as the offspring of two governmentally-enhanced parents, has the ability to start fires with her mind, has been on her own for the last decade or so. Through flashbacks, we are reminded of the story of Firestarter, and how Charlie was manipulated into using her power by John Rainbird, but then turned on him when her father was killed. Now Rainbird has a new group of gifted youngsters he oversees, but remains preoccupied with thoughts of the absent Charlie.
Marguerite Moreau, who plays Charlie, is a very cute kid. Yes, Mom, I would do her. I wonder if they approached Drew Barrymore with the role, or whether they simply dismissed her as not hot enough (sorry, pun intended). Malcolm McDowell plays John Rainbird, who apparently survived the events of the first film and novel, but is grotesquely scarred from the ordeal. My sister would recognize Danny Nucci, the male protagonist (and Charlie's love interest), from Titanic. I didn't, however.
It's more Sci-Fi than Horror, which would explain its appearance on the Sci-Fi Channel, and not Rish Outfield's Unedited Bloodbath Network. The evil cadre of enhanced children was scary stuff, though. Especially one who is not only a soulless, terrifying little monster, he's pug-ugly to boot. The group of kids are individually fascinating (if rather "X-Men"-esque): one kid had no eyes (yet can still see), one could destroy things by screaming (oh, I wanted him dead too), and there was a real bastard of a telepath.
It had neat pyrotechnic effects (fire is fun, kids). Charlie's love/hate relationship with John Rainbird was great, because the audience feels it too. The sexuality was actually very explicit for television standards, as was the violence. Ain't cable great? A couple of moments--chases, non-dialogue, etc.--seem padded to fit the long format, but this was much leaner than a lot of recent mini-series, including Rose Red.
The ending was not entirely satisfying, but it was alright. For some reason, I felt sad when the four hours were up, that it had to be over. And that, my fiends, is a compliment. In a way, it reminded me of that great '70s series, "The Incredible Hulk," which I would watch with my dad on Sunday nights. Each week David Banner would move from town to town, trying to help people, and every time he got close to someone, the raging beast inside him would come out and force him to move on, leaving him alone and sad at the end of every episode. I would see a "Firestarter" series as much the same kind of thing. And I would watch it.
Note: The title, while a pun (generally speaking, instantly Bad Title Skull-worthy) was high-brow and intelligent, so it gets to squeak by.