This is the second go-round for Charlie McGee, a young girl with pyrotechnic and telekinetic powers that a secret governmental agency would like to control and harness.  She first appeared in the 1984 adaptation of Stephen King’s book, in the form of young Drew Barrymore, just two years removed from her breakout role in E. T. – The ExtraTerrestrial.  That film is pretty good (at least, that’s how I remember it).  Almost forty years later, the story is retold, but I’m really not sure why.

Keith Thomas’ version follows the McGees, Andy (Zac Efron), Vicky (Sydney Lemmon) and their daughter Charlie (Ryan Kiera Armstrong), who are forced to flee once Charlie’s fiery talents are publicly exposed.  Government agent Captain Hollister (Gloria Reuben) calls in a retired specialist, John Rainbird (Michael Greyeyes) to find the girl and deliver her for further study.  Things get hot and people die, and eventually Charlie has to take matters into her own capable hands.

Despite its unique lead character, Firestarter is a rather obvious governmental conspiracy story.  This version makes a couple of missteps.  The first is making the father, Andy, the lead character most of the way through.  He’s not that interesting.  The focus should be on the girl.  The second misstep is the low key approach to the incendiary material.  This is supposed to be a thriller, but it is presented and directed like a routine police story much of the time.  Too much is muted, from the color palate to the action sequences.  The only standouts in the acting department are Ryan Kiera Armstrong, who makes her character’s angst both relatable and convincing, Gloria Reuben as the overly ambitious new agency head, and Michael Greyeyes as Rainbird, the troubled specialist who forms an unlikely bond with his prey.

I’ve always liked this story, but this version is surprisingly dull and listless for much of its relatively short running time.  It just doesn’t have the feel of a major motion picture production, which is a shame, because that’s what it should have been.  The quiet-ish music score from John Carpenter doesn’t help, either.  If you have a hankering to experience this story properly, read the book, or search out the 1984 film.  Both are better than this version.  ☆ ☆.  23 December 2023.