Stephen King’s Firestarter got a reboot with a fresh movie. While the original 1984 film was not great, this mordan adaptation of the novel falls flat on its face. The promising film fails to deliver and is a letdown.
This movie stars Ryan Kiera Armstrong as Charlie and Zac Efron as Andy. We take a look at 5 reasons why the firestarter reboot fails to make a mark. Have you seen this movie? If so, what do you think of it? Let us know your opinion in the comments section below.
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A Weak Villain Who Never Poses a Threat
More often than not, films adapted from Stephen King novels have terrifying villains. Think Pennywise, Byron Hadley, and Annie Wilkes. Sadly, this tradition is not followed in this adaptation. While the character of the villain and his backstory were quite promising, the story that follows shows him as a toothless tiger, always outwitted and defeated by Charlie. Perhaps, a stronger and more menacing villain could have lifted this film up.
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The Chaotic Last Battle of The Firestarter Reboot
The final half of the Firestarter reboot sees Charlie moving towards Andy’s cell. She obliterates everything that comes her way in this sequence. It is here that this film plunges into a chaotic mess which makes the film even worse.
The Firestarter Reboot is Not Very Scary
This film is supposed to be a horror movie, adapted from a novel written by Stephen King, despite this it is hardly spooky. Sure, there are some stomach-churning scenes of burns from Charlie’s touchings, but that isn’t scary. Apart from a couple of jump-scares, the film fails to scare, which it being a horror flick, was its main job.
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Zac Effron’s Performance
Effron is an amazing actor who has given solid performances across genres. This film, on the other hand, was not one of his best ones. The script is partly to blame. His character is overly melodramatic and just doesn’t fit well with the rest of the film. Alas, the movie fails to capitalize on such a talented star as Zac.
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The Movie Never Explore The Father-Daughter Story
At the heart of this film’s story is the father-daughter duo escaping from a malevolent government agency. This agency wants to kill the father and experiment on the daughter. All this, while the small family freshly lost the mother. Despite all this emotional substance, it is never pursued or explored in depth. Exploring this tragic situation in the lives of the family could have made the film better. The actors were talented but the script apparently let them down.
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