Firestarter

Starring: Zac Efron, Ryan Kiera Armstrong, Michael Greyeyes, Sydney Lemmon, Gloria Reuben, Kurtwood Smith, John Beasley

Director: Keith Thomas

Based on the novel "Firestarter" by Stephen King

After escaping telekinetic experiments by The Shop, Andy McGee (Efron) and his wife Vicky (Lemmon) are living undercover in the small town of Lewiston with their daughter Charlie (Armstrong). Charlie, who has developed powerful and uncontrollable pyrotelekinetic powers, is consistently bullied and loses control of her powers, causing an explosion at her school. With their cover now blown, Andy must take his family on the run to avoid The Shop, whose leader Captain Hollister (Reuben) sends ruthless mercenary Rainbird (Greyeyes) after them, leaving a trail of death and destruction in his path.

I want to preface my review with the fact that I have not seen the original Firestarter, which came out in 1984 and starred a young Drew Barrymore. I do know this original film did come with controversy, casting George C. Scott in a role meant to be played by an indigenous actor.

The biggest complaint I have against this new film is that it fails to ignite any sort of suspense or terror. This is likely due to the fact that it moves at such a breakneck pace, you don't really get to know or understand the characters or their motivations. We are meant to fear for the leads because they are the leads and not because we are given any genuine investment. A major character dies early on and not only does it happen off screen, but the movie almost forgets it happened after it’s over and never gives the characters time to react. The film runs a very lean hour and a half with credits and is about 20 minutes shorter than the 1984 version. You'll never be bored but you'll also never be given a reason to care.

There are some effective action scenes in the film, such as the attack at Irv's farm. Prior to the action scene, this is also one of the few times the movie slows down and tries to expand on the characters. The finale at The Shop is also a bloody good time but like the rest of the film seems in too much of a hurry.

The score is the best part of the movie and I’ll never turn down a chance for a John Carpenter score. It’s rare to see him take on scoring a project that isn’t his own or related to a project of his. I'm not complaining but it is a little surprising nonetheless.

Efron is actually pretty good in the role. He almost effortlessly carries the movie, sharing good chemistry with the young Ryan Armstrong. One annoying character quirk he does have is when he summons his telekinetic powers, it is preceded by an annoying neck crack. It feels very forced to get a quick jump out of audiences. I’m not sure if this is a carry over from the book or previous film but it’s unnecessary. I also give the movie kudos for casting the indigenous role with an indigenous actor. While Michael Greyeyes has had better roles, it’s great to see the film reclaim the role from the very white George C Scott in the previous film. Young Armstrong has big shoes to fill and she does admirably, attempting to give Charlie more than what is on the script page. I think better scripts and better roles await the youngster in the future.

While not the worst Stephen King adaptation, the movie fails to catch fire and suffers from a lack of investment and suspense.

Grade: C-

Firestarter is currently in theaters and streaming on Peacock.