32
Metascore
29 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 67ColliderAlyse WaxColliderAlyse WaxI think this would be best enjoyed by someone who had never seen the original 1984 film; that way, you won’t be constantly comparing the two in your head.
- 50The Hollywood ReporterFrank ScheckThe Hollywood ReporterFrank ScheckWhile it has a few genuine scares (cat lovers will want to avert their eyes for one horrific scene), it never achieves the deliriously freaky heights one expects from a film version of one of King’s cheesier novels.
- 50SlashfilmChris EvangelistaSlashfilmChris EvangelistaFirestarter isn't offensively bad. It's not likely to make you angry, or have you calling it the worst dang thing you've ever seen. But it is aggressively average, bordering on mediocre. There's nothing fiery here. It's lukewarm at best.
- 42ConsequenceJesse HassengerConsequenceJesse HassengerIs it better for a Stephen King franchise to burn out or fade away? Firestarter manages to do both at once.
- 40Los Angeles TimesNoel MurrayLos Angeles TimesNoel MurrayWhen it’s a cautionary tale about an unusual family who’ll never know a moment’s peace because of their past choices, Firestarter is worthy of its source material. When in its last half-hour it turns into chapter one of a potential new superhero franchise, it joins the long list of Stephen King movies that are all gimmick, no guts.
- 40VarietyOwen GleibermanVarietyOwen GleibermanThe whole thing plays like “Logan” done in the worst humdrum rhythmless made-for-streaming generic style, the lighting flat, the soundtrack heavy with John Carpenter’s old-school one-man-at-the-synthesizer horror music, because if you took that sound of processed dread away you wouldn’t have much else.
- 38Movie NationRoger MooreMovie NationRoger MooreWhat starts out feeling lean and stylishly stripped-down, with a faintly-creepy young lead, waters her down and winds up playing cut-rate, abridged and cheap.
- 30CNNBrian LowryCNNBrian LowryA new do-over that can barely generate enough heat to qualify as a thriller.
- 23TheWrapWilliam BibbianiTheWrapWilliam BibbianiThe new Firestarter is a lot like the old Firestarter, if the old Firestarter was duller, cheaper, and devoid of almost all meaning.
- 16The PlaylistRobert DanielsThe PlaylistRobert DanielsIt’s unsettling how every minute of this 94-minute flick delivers a new level of boredom. You have to feel for the actors.