Clevercell
Very disappointing...
BootDigest
Such a frustrating disappointment
Erica Derrick
By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.
LeonLouisRicci
Standard, innocuous, and incendiary this rather enjoyable Action Movie is light entertainment with a soft R rating. Pretty tame as these things go, it has some death defying dumb stunts and the whole thing is a notch above a TV Movie and can be quite enjoyable in a humdrum sort of way.If you don't expect your leading Actor to act or can tolerate a script that is dampened by a standard re-write of a glutted genre, then settle in for a Movie that doesn't ask much and is a jump into a not so hot Movie, but it doesn't leave you cold either.William Forsythe (has he ever disappointed) once again is a force to be reckoned on screen and steals the show with his Evil stare and detached dementia. This bad guy and the raging inferno are the reasons to catch this when you are in the mood for some pizza and beer or cheese and wine, but keep an eye on the fireplace or the fondue.
MargoC
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.
BroadswordCallinDannyBoy
A cunning criminal sets a fire to cover his escape from prison. He takes a hostage and promises fellow cohorts a share of a large stash that he hid sometime ago. It is up to smokejumper Jesse Graves to save the hostage and stop the villain.The premise is unbelievably hokey, but it still manages to fall short of the plots hokeyness. The movie is just some loosely connected action scenes that are made with unimpressive staging and mediocre special effects. From the first super cheesy scene the acting is virtually non-existent, except for William Forysthe who manages to entertain with his super-evil and calculating villain persona. But still, he can't make something out of nothing.Nothing is an apt way to put it since this is really a film about just that. There is little mention of plot, little mention of the smokejumpers' techniques, little mention of the science of fire, but there is lots of fire. LOTS AND LOTS OF FIRE. But fire is just fire. It can't make a movie by itself.Re-watch Twister for a relatively plot-less disaster/action movie done right. Or if fire is your thing Backdraft or Ladder 49 will do. Just avoid this. --- 2/10Rated R for violence
drzom
Somewhere inside this movie is another Die Hard waiting to get out. A classic exercise on what not to do when making an action epic - to wit: don't sellout your action scenes with chop sockey editing that renders your story incomprehensible. Don't try to rip off little bits of other action movies and do them with less panache. Despite all the snark, Howie does a pretty good job and with a good director he might have made something of it. Hell, Glenn and Forsythe are experienced actors and they suck eggs in every scene- that's the director and editor's fault. I think if someone had given the raw footage to John McTiernan we might have seen a different, and decent, movie. If I remember correctly, Long was voted Male Star of Tomorrow at ShoWest 1997.
