Firestorm (1998)

Smoke jumper Jessy Graves' day is about to take a twist for the worst. He thinks his fellow fire fighters are trapped in a fire so he jumps in. Big mistake! The fire fighters are actually criminals planning a daring jail break. Is Graves ready for that kind of action?

Feels like Howie Longs's lacking something as the hero, but then again who doesn't appreciate an unconventional one? He's definitely big and buff. And charming. Just somehow... maybe not so desperate? Or angry? Either one or the other, whichever type of hero he's attempting to portray.

The story's that of a prison break, and of fire-fighters specialized in the art of parachuting down into the flames to save what can be saved (wonder if there really is such a branch of the occupation).

While the lead villain (well-played by William Forsythe) mercilessly kills off one after the other of his criminal companions and makes each death look like an accident - less money to split, our unconventional hero races to save his one legit hostage, and the flames draw near, ultimately converging in what you'd technically call a firestorm.

It's intense! It's filmed creatively, with a variety of angles and effects and - I assume - authentic fire.

It feels real enough, you feel the heat, even if there is a bit of an inconsistency with how much air that hole in the boat actually lets in...

Good movie though. Gritty. Packed with action. Not perfect. But on the other hand with refreshingly little CGI too. and the hero does save the day.

Don't stress the details.

 rated 3.5/5: not bad at all