“Firestarter: Rekindled” (2002, Sci-Fi Channel), similar to “Superman Returns,” is one of those odd movies (technically a 2-hour, 48-minute miniseries) that’s a sequel to a movie that doesn’t exist. It’s understandable if it’s off-putting to “Firestarter” fans, but Philip Eisner (“Event Horizon”) writes a continuation of the general beats of Stephen King’s novel (which was faithfully adapted into a 1984 movie) but he also rewrites that original story via the interlaced backstory.
Rainbird returns
I think this is for the sake of keeping John Rainbird (Malcolm McDowell) alive, redefining his role within the government experiments, and tweaking his ultimate goal. In King’s novel, Rainbird only aims to see the life leave the eyes of young Charlie McGee (now played by Marguerite Moreau in her 20s and Skye McCole Bartusiak in the flashbacks to childhood). That did not translate at all well in the 1984 film.
In “Rekindled,” Rainbird is raising superpowered kids – the Lot Six experiments have continued up through Lot 23 – in a lab setting similar to “X-Men” stories, particularly those focusing on children and teens such as “The Gifted” and “The New Mutants.” He harbors a twisted love for Charlie; a throwaway line paints him as a pedophile who is drawn to girls — he says that’s why he focuses his scientific work on boys.
“Firestarter: Rekindled” (2002)
2 episodes, Sci-Fi Channel
Director: Robert Iscove
Writer: Philip Eisner
Stars: Marguerite Moreau, Danny Nucci, Malcolm McDowell
Enhanced by excellent burn-scar prosthetics, McDowell effectively portrays the soft-voiced creepiness of Rainbird. Perhaps because it’s a TV miniseries that has to fit a time slot, “Rekindled” — directed by Robert Iscove (“She’s All That”) — is poorly paced. Sometimes we spend too much time in Rainbird’s lab and the mood fizzles out.
The plot is stuffed with sci-fi ideas, but not in a bad way, and the performances are strong for a made-for-cable flick. Joining McDowell among a surprisingly good cast are – to name a few — Dennis Hopper as someone from the McGee family’s past, Danny Nucci (“The Fosters”) as a young special agent tricked by his superiors, John Dennis Johnston as an officious but sharp black-ops leader, and Deborah Van Valkenburgh as a terrified Lot Six survivor.
Some flat acting is peppered in – particularly among Rainbird’s young charges — and the pyrokinetic special effects are cheesy. A tighter cut could’ve smoothed out the weak spots and salvaged the picture.
A hot lead
Moreau (who I remember from TV’s “Life as We Know It”) is a decent lead. She’s hot, of course, and one of the “X-Men” type of kids does have fun with that wordplay. The actress also radiates pain and tiredness that reflects the now-orphaned Charlie’s troubled background, and she has decent chemistry with the earnest Vincent (Nucci).
Eisner perhaps deserves credit for something rather clever. I wonder if the filmmakers said “We have a limited budget but access to one full town set.” So Rainbird’s facility is within a warehouse called The Town (in actuality this is a Hollywood soundstage, of course). The kids – including a mind-controller, a shrieker and a life-force-absorber – can practice tearing it up.
In the grand finale, Rainbird unleashes his young Brotherhood of Evil Mutants on the actual town in Colorado (but it’s the same soundstage, natch). He aims to satisfy his obsession with demigods and his own eternal punishment by drawing the fiery rage out of Charlie. I like how this is close to King’s idea yet serves cinematic needs.
“Rekindled” is the exact opposite of 1984’s “Firestarter” in that I never knew exactly where it was going – and that means a lot in the wake of that boring film. It has too many flaws to rank as an outright good production, but it’s better than I thought it would be.
If you can get past the unusual decision to make an almost-sequel rather than a true sequel (something the flashbacks help with), you might find “Firestarter: Rekindled” to be a fun experiment within the catalog of King spinoffs.
On Fridays, RFMC reviews a Stephen King book, adaptation or related work. Click here to visit our Stephen King Zone.