Tormenta de Fogo

When I first heard of Firestorm, I thought it was going to be a blast, but it just didn't live up to my expectations. I had to admit, the dialogue was EXTREMELY lousy. Howie Long has to start reading his lines more. He seemed like a damn zombie when it came to his talking parts! But enough about the bad parts. I think this film had a lot of great action sequences, because it all seemed pretty realistic. If he would just work at it, Long would make an excellent action hero. Though he wouldn't make it to the level of Schwarzeneggar and Stallone, he would probably equal to the level with Dolph Lundgren, Wings Hauser, Gary Busey, and Bruce Campbell. Firestorm really reminded me of a lot like Cliffhanger, because they similar plot tones. Let's face it, this film is no Ben-Hur, but if you like action films that don't require a high IQ, Firestorm is your right choice.

Hokey, instantly forgettable action movie which seems to be trying to cash in on moviegoers fascination with disaster flicks. A sly, merciless convict escapes a Wyoming prison with assorted others and sets out to recover a stash of money with a blazing forest fire as his cover. What begins as the perfect plan quickly goes awry when he's pursued by a resilient, resourceful smokejumper (Long) who's determined to thwart him. Another one of those movies that takes a force of nature and drives it into the ground with thin characters, silly dialogue, and routine writing. Throwaway dumpster fire has not a single fresh or innovative idea in the entire picture, nor a single plot twist that you won't be one step ahead of. *

It's pretty obvious that the director has numerous Oscar nominations for cinematography, because the visuals look pretty spectacular. This in of itself makes the movie entertaining to watch, which is OK for a film that's really only intended to be a basic action flick. Forsythe, Amis and Glen do a good job helping Howie Long through the scenes. Even though he can't really act, Howie's likability and physical prowess make him fun to watch. I could easily delve into the problems of this film (which are numerous), but if you go in with very low expectations, you may come out pleasantly surprised. Firestorm is a fun little action flick with great visuals you can watch on a rainy day. It's certainly no worse than some of the other films of the same genre.

Toasty, by-the-numbers b-grade natural disaster action joint which has a stout-hearted Howie Long playing a smoke-jumper that has to tackle firestorms and William Forsythe's gleefully hammy bad guy persona. Forsythe is great and you know you can always expect a show whenever his on screen, as he simply knows how to play devious tyrants. Also along for the heatwave are Scott Glenn and Barry Pepper. Simple-minded writing makes sure that the bubblegum action flows with the blatant heroics coming to the forefront, which is led by Long and Glenn. Hammy dialogues (I can't remember the last time I heard someone be called a butt-munch) are filtered in and the stunt-work can get hot and heavy. Too bad some of the computer effects come off rather lousy, especially during the final climatic scenes. Director Dean Semler (who was cinematographer for such films as "Mad Max 2" and "Razorback") keeps it rugged and heightens it with some stylish shots of the woodland terrain. Disposable, but crackling entertainment.

Sometimes I just want to watch a movie for its entertainment value not its artistic content. This is such a movie. There is action in every scene and great special effects. This movie reminds me of the slam-bang old movie serials which didn't make sense but were entertaining. I used to work in a prison and to have prisoners from a State Prison instead of a local minimum security prison to fight fires is stupid. Also they should have had like an old army type open truck 6 wheel drive, not a school bus to go into the woods. Suzi Amis was a perfect example of why baseball caps look great on women. I liked it a lot.