Does anybody here like the movie Firestarter?

[Writer]

I was in the mood for something grimmer last night, so I got my copy of Firestarter and watched it again. All in all, I thought, not a bad movie though there were some parts that could have been better. The score (by Tangerine Dream) was excellent, and the movie is actually a fairly close adaptation from the book, although it clipped out and abbreviated a lot of stuff that would have been helpful for understanding what was going on.

One thing about it that struck me rather odd was that one all-important point it didn't bother clarifying is that the character Rainbird is not really a pedophile, although he does initially come across sounding that way in both the book and the movie. (In the book, though, he did at least go to the trouble of denying any sexual interest in little Charlene McGee when his boss started looking worried about the way he was talking about her.)

In fact, Rainbird's actual motives had to do with a desire to get a glimpse into the afterlife, and he figured his best chance of doing this was to look into Charlene's eyes as she died. Maybe the director figured the character would be more shocking and repulsive to the audience if he didn't mitigate the creepy things he was saying, but I figure Rainbird would have been more interesting if they had kept him the way he was in the book.

There's also a plot hole Stephen King may simply have overlooked, that when there's a disaster, horses tend to hide themselves in their stables and refuse to come out, which is why the horses usually burn up with the stable when there's a fire there. Maybe the author just didn't know that, or maybe he neglected to clarify the odd bond Charlene seemed to have with horses that  might explain why they would leave the stables at her mental command. (At the very least, they could have had her light a fire on the horses' tails to get them moving, or something.)

For all of its flaws, though, I found it a very enjoyable film. I'd give it at least four slimes if I were reviewing it for this site. What do the rest of you think of it?

[Ed]

I actually liked this movie and the book.  However I liked different aspects, like the treatment of the father's psychic powers.  He was relatively powerful but it always cost him to use it.  Its a decent movie overall, at least 3-4 slimes.  
I think of all the Stephen King movies I like this one the best.  I am not fond of Carrie, nor Cujo.  
-Ed

[Gerry]

I'm a fan of FIRESTARTER.  It was always pretty clear to me that George C. Scott's Rainbird character's primary interest was to see into the afterlife at the instant she died.  Much more interesting character in the book though.

Hey, I mentioned two George C. Scott movies in two minutes!

[Cheecky-Monkey]

I saw it on Sc-fi channel about a year ago.
Sorry, didn't do anything for me, just one of the 'yeah-I-saw-that-one-once' flicks, forgetable at best.
Maybe I should try seeing it again?

[Writer]

Well, of course, they probably clipped out the nasty language and maybe some of the more intense stuff if it was on TV. (I wonder what other stuff gets cut out from films like these on television when they're R-rated.) It might be more interesting as a video rental, in other words.

Whether a film "does it for you" or not, of course, depends on what you like. I think what I liked best about this film was just seeing the little girl frying a whole compound full of corrupt secret agents. I also liked the theme that there's something corrupt and--they dare to suggest--perverse about the very existence of secret government agencies that don't answer to the public.

My favorite bit of dialogue was from Martin Sheen as Captain Hollister and Drew Barrymore as Charlene McGee:

Cap: "...you're a nice little girl."

Charlie: "Go to Hell!"

Cap: "A very stubborn nice little girl."

And again, the music was excellent. In the big incineration-fest at the end, I especially liked the ghostly wails from Tangerine Dream as they show Charlene McGee's inexorable approach and the all of the agents' futile attempts to stop her.

So, if you're into a bit of mayhem and horror in a film critical of secret government agencies, this is the film for you. If not, I guess you'd have to try something else.

[Conrad]

One scene that stood out for me:  when the girl and her dad are out in the middle of the countryside, hiding (or so they think).  They both suddenly get shot with trank darts and keel over - and then lots of people dressed in fireproof suits emerge from concealment, out of nowhere.

[Writer]

Yeah, that was weird! I remember thinking "Dude, how did they manage to hide all that foil so well?"

Of course, the McGees should have figured the Shop would think to look for them there, and in the book, they did. More stuff that ended up on the cutting room floor, I suspect. (Then again, the hardest thing to do is to portray people NOT doing things, such as not using electricity or doing anything to call attention to themselves.)

Maybe they ought to remake this movie. And write a better sequel for it this time.