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Firestarter (2022) - A Movie Review

'Firestarter' could have been an epic sci-fi thriller but it lacked construction and depth.

By Marielle SabbagPublished 2 years ago 3 min read
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You have to control it or you’re going to set the room on fire.

Firestarter is a 2022 film adaptation of Stephen King’s 1980 novel. Charlie has had the power to set things on fire since she was born. As both Charlie and her father try to understand it, they discover that they are being followed by undercover cops.

I have been a major Stephen King fan for the longest time. I have seen the original Firestarter. It was a good film, but it didn’t have the strongest story. Wondering if the newest adaptation of Firestarter would make it stronger, it lacks coherent direction in this lackluster film.

Let’s start with the cast. Firestarter is well-cast but did not garner the best of performances. That’s due to the lack of direction. Firestarter includes the talents of Zac Efron, Ryan Kiera Armstrong, Sydney Lemmon, Michael Greyeyes, Gloria Reuben, Kurtwood Smith, John Beasley, and Tina Jung.

Zac Efron was the talk of the media to publicize this film. Since I watched most of Efron’s films in my teen years (High School Musical and Hairspray), I wanted to see what he could do with this role. Andy McGee was not the right role for Efron.

He was a little young for a dad role. Efron hardly connected to the role at all. He had strange line deliveries and his character changed from aggressive behavior to (what feels like) looking out for his daughter with little emotion.

I have seen Ryan Kiera Armstrong in two other films, specifically her brief role in It Chapter 2. Let me tell you, in contrast to this film, it is evident that she had better direction in other media than here. Armstrong was great as Charlie, driving the film with her performance. The film is just so messy that it took away from her performance.

The relationship between Charlie and her father is the core of Firestarter. They lacked any relationship, whatsoever. The two share random and very awkward scenes, like when Charlie accidentally burns a cat to death. None of them know how to react to the situation.

The film never amplifies its story. Seriously, this could have been an epic sci-fi thriller but it lacked construction, depth, and if filmmakers were even interested in making this film. The editing is so messy, switching to various scenes. Even the fire effects look weak.

Characters have the most unrealistic reactions. The school scenes got on my nerves. Charlie is bullied by the other kids right in front of the teachers. Charlie’s teacher is more concerned about steam coming off from Charlie than another student hitting her in the head with a dodgeball during gym class.

Keith Thomas hardly touched on important facts and disregards any compelling moments that made the book stand out. There’s hardly any characterization for Charlie who is the most essential character. He didn’t have the main area of focus other than making it clear that Charlie has fire powers.

This film is so emotionless that it falls asleep on itself. The 2022 adaptation of Firestarter didn’t try to do anything different. Writers cut out most of the important plot points like science experiments. It erased all the tension that Charlie had with her powers.

I want to go back and watch the original film now. I got bored and lost interest in the latest adaptation which is a shame because I expected more. It was so hollow, not containing any depth.

If you want to check out Firestarter, see it in theaters or watch it streaming on Peacock.

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About the Creator

Marielle Sabbag

Writing has been my passion since I was 11 years old. I love creating stories from fiction, poetry, fanfiction. I enjoy writing movie reviews. I would love to become a creative writing teacher and leave the world inspiring minds.

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