Firestorm (1998)

Good concept, poorly executed.

It's hard to see any effort in the film. There's no comedy to speak of, no real drama and, worst of all.

This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

Poorly written, poorly performed, chock-full of factual errors. Some of the fire scenes were ok but all in all not even Scott Glenn could save this turd.

I've seen worse and of course I've seen better. I enjoyed Backdraft, and I figured this was just Backdraft in the woods. It was just what I expected, a cheesy action movie, with "witty" lines and a totally off the wall villain. William Forsythe is one of my favorite "villain" actors, and he does not disappoint. There's something about him that's really creepy. Favorite line? "Heeeeeeeeeeeeey smokejumpah! You still alive?" If you're looking for a B movie that has pretty good action scenes and bad dialogue, this is the one for you. The fire scenes were actually quite good too. Great improbable stunts too.Too bad Howie didn't take his shirt off, I would have given it another star.

This is one of those films that you can really get a kick out of because it is so bad. It is almost like someone took "Cheesey Movie Making 101." The casting is surprisingly good, the acting itself isn't bad, but script is humorously appalling and the characters are incredibly predictable and shallow. We actually had a very good time predicting characters' next lines with an amusing amount of success. The opening scene is hilarious (small dog included, I kid you not). Speaking as someone who has worked in the wildland fire the movie is completely unrealistic, particularly the beginning and end, the movie has nice symmetry that way. (To name a few errors, you light a backfire to eliminate the fuels-not the oxygen, we do not fly aircraft at night, and, trust me on this one, EVERYONE wears sunglasses.) This is actually quite successful as a satire on action films. Unfortunately for the film makers, I don't think that is what was intended.

Former NFL star Howie Long tries to make leading man status with this silly and really ridiculous would-be-action-thriller that is little more than a long puff of smoke. Long stars as a fire-fighter in the forest who believes that some fellow fire-fighters are trapped in the wilderness, but really it is just an elaborate trick by some escaped convicts led by William Forsythe. Now Long must take the bad guys with the typical violent and empty results. Long really had a good role in "Broken Arrow" as John Travolta's evil henchman, but given more air time means Long excels even less on the big screen. 2 stars out of 5.