Firestorm (Film Review)

1998 20th Century Fox
Directed by: Dean Semler; Written by: Chris Soth
Starring: Howie Long, Scott Glenn, William Forsythe, and Suzy Amis
Rated: R; Running Time: 89 Minutes
The Nicsperiment Score: 6/10

Jeese Graves is the king of the smokejumpers. If you need someone to parachute into a forest fire anywhere in Northern Wyoming, Graves is your man. Unfortunately for Graves, he's about to have to fight more than just fire. In the middle of an arson-caused wildfire, a group of dangerous escaped cons, led by the dastardly Randall Shaye, have infiltrated Graves' woods disguised as fellow firefighters. The bad guys are looking for a huge mountain of cash Shaye hid in the forest years before. Now they've taken a birdwatcher hostage, and are on their way to finding the money and escaping forever, their trail of bodies hidden by ashes. Looks like Jesse's the only one standing in their way!
Remember action movies? Remember...movies? Firestorm comes from an era where a $20 million-budgeted action thriller could hit the box-office on any given weekend. The late 90's are gone, but the movies remain. Firestorm might not be a genre classic, but it's far more worthwhile a viewing than its 12% on Rotten Tomatoes' reputation would suggest.
As Graves, NFL Hall of Famer, Howie Long, isn't asked to do more than grin, grimace, and tumble around. He's great at all three things. The acting heavy lifting is done by William Forsythe as Shaye, and the character actor veteran evilly hams it up every moment he's on screen, delightfully backstabbing his criminal partners at every available chance. Meanwhile, the action is fun, the stunts are excellent, and the plot is breezy, with the credits done rolling before the 90-minute mark. Sure, the movie's also got your general big dumb action goofiness, but that's all a part of the territory and charm.
Unfortunately, the short-length betrays the movie's weakest point, as Firestorm's low-budget dictates that the beats a bigger action film would hang out on are rushed through. Long doesn't get to mix it up with the criminals until nearly an hour into the film, and by that point there's barely half-an-hour to go. I just wish Firestorm would have had the chance to burn brighter.
That pun fizzled out...but this movie does not. It may not be a classic, but for action movie fans, it's most definitely worth a watch.