Review of Firestarter (1984) by Filipeneto — 12 Feb 2018

A fire too cold to be surprising.

This film is an adaptation of a novel by Stephen King, where a young girl with pirokinesis and his father, with powers of mental manipulation, are seeking to escape government agents that want to kill them. Directed by Mark L. Lester, has David Keith and Drew Barrymore in the lead roles.

This film is neither good nor bad. It is exactly in the middle. Drue Barrymore still manages to enchant us, as it was still far from the bad roads that ran through adolescence, years later. The story is also very interesting and covers a topic that always knew intrigue people. However, it's not, by far, the best film adaptation of a King book: the actors are sometimes too theatrical, especially Keith, every time it uses its powers; the script also has some obvious flaws and lack of logic. If the father imagined, as the film suggests, the danger in which he lived with his family, why he didn't use his powers to flee abroad earlier? And what is the purpose of that rampant police harassment against a man able to control minds and a girl able to set fire to everything?

Not being very good, this film is still able to perform well with its role: entertain the public. Therefore, it is still interesting to see, although it is not surprising.