Firestarter

In this adaptation of Stephen King's book of the same name, Drew Barrymore plays 8 year-old Charlie who has the ability to start fires with her mind.

Her father, Andy (David Keith), is on the run from government agents that are chasing them. You see a few years ago Andy needed money and he signed up for a research experiment where he, and nine other people, were given an experimental drug that was supposed to cause some hallucinations. Instead eight of the ten committed suicide while Andy and Vicky (Heather Locklear) ended up with telepathic abilities. They got married and had a child, Charlene, who can ignite objects. And now the government agency that performed the experiments (aka 'The Shop') wants them back. They killed Vicky and were about to abduct Charlie but Andy got there in time to mentally 'push' them into giving her back to him. They've been on the run ever since.

Charlie can't control her powers and she lights people on fire when she gets angry. She accidentally lit her mom's hands on fire once and she did it again burning a man's feet when he was arguing with his pregnant girlfriend. The Shop men are one step behind them so they hitchhike to Charlie's grandfather's place. They get picked up by a nice old man who is immediately taken by Charlie. Irv (Art Carney) decides to take them back to his place. There he and his wife, Norma (Louise Fletcher), give them lunch and let Charlie play with the chickens. I hope they like extra crispy. Irv knows that they've lied to him, but he thinks they're good people so Andy tells them the truth.

Then the Shop boys show up and Andy sets Charlie on them, burning them and blowing up their cars. Irv gives them his old jeep and they drive the rest of the way.

The main guys in charge of the Shop are discussing what to do about them. The doctor who preformed the experiments wants them dead; he says that as she gets older, her powers will only increase and he's afraid of how far they'll go. Captain Hollister (Martin Sheen) wants to study her and turn her into a weapon of mass destruction. Typical. Rainbird (George C. Scott), who is an assassin with the Shop, correcting their mistakes, wants the girl. It's all very creepy in a pedophile-ish kind of way. We find out later that he wants to kill her when she's the most happy, so she will hate him and let loose her powers, killing him and in doing so sending him to the next world, where he will hopefully acquire her powers........ what? I have absolutely nothing to say to that so we will move on.

Rainbird finds them and tranquillizes both of them, bringing them back to the Shop. They are separated and studied individually. Andy is given drugs to dull him powers. Rainbird, disguises himself as a cleaner and befriends Charlie. He convinces her to do what they want and she uses her abilities so Hollister can study them.  Hollister starts jumping up and down when she lights a pile of wood chips on fire and states that no one can doubt him and the tape could stand up in court, the supreme court. I don't get why he would want to do that. One would think he would want to keep this under wraps.

Anyway, Andy stops taking his meds and gets Hollister to get him out of the cell he was in and gets him to bring Charlie a note telling her to meet him at the stables. In her excitement, she tells Rainbird, and he waits for them at the stables. Andy tells her that Rainbird is working for the Shop, then Rainbird shoots him. Charlie then burns down the entire compound, making sure that the horses get out safely first. She burns it down so that they can never do experiments again.

She then makes her way back to Irv and Norma, to live with them.

This movie wasn't that bad. I haven't read the book so I have no way to compare them. The only problem is, once again, the villains. Why is it so hard to make competent bad guys? I mean, Charlie could've burnt down the building they were in at any point with a thought. Why would you lie to her and betray her? That is just asking for death.

Rainbird was just creepy, what was up with him? Taking her powers into the next world? Where did that come from? Maybe it was in the book. I think the problem was that they were trying to be too faithful to the actions in the book that they left out the character development. And there are things, like Rainbird's insanity, that make no sense unless you have the development. Then again I haven't read it, so I have no way of knowing if that's true of not.

Grade: 5.5/10