Firestorm
Tags: suspenseful, murder, violence

Plot synopsis:
A storm is heading to the city of Hong Kong, and with it comes another occurrence so destructive, it vows to bring down everything it touches.
A crew of seasoned criminals led by the notorious Cao Nam (Hu Jun), armed with high-powered weapons, pulls off another smooth and violent armored car heist in broad daylight in a crowded street. Whoever tries to get in their way, they will show no mercy. This puts the police force to shame and humiliation.
A hardboiled senior police inspector Lui Ming-chit (Andy Lau), hot on the trails of Nam and his tight crew, determines to put an end to this madness that causes the lives of innocent people. But he soon comes face with the cruel reality that the usual police tactics are too futile to send these armed thieves behind bars. Extreme crime requires extreme justice, even if it means crossing his moral line. To Shing-bong (Gordon Lam), an ex-con desperate to leave his criminal past behind, volunteers to be Lui’s informant in exchange for a fresh start with his girlfriend Yin Bing (Yao Chen). But little does he know what hellish situation he is getting himself into.
While Nam is putting together his next big score, the two colliding forces from both sides of the law, each at the top of their games, will soon face their archenemies. As Lui’s hunt heats up, their ultimate confrontation is about to take place on the streets.
As the storm passes through and the dust settles, whoever survives can hardly cope with its horrifying aftermath.

Review: This is kind of a Class B action film and it stars an ex-pro football player (Howie Long) making his debut in the movies.
It's actually a good adventure story and Long was capable in his acting.
He was aided by three fine actors who usually are interesting in whatever roles they play: Scott Glenn, Suzy Amis and William Forstyhe.
Forsythe was good at playing what he does best: the nasty villain.This movie was also well-filmed with some nice closeup and camera angles.
Otherwise, for a no-name movie starring a rookie actor it was better than I anticipated..
It was just what I expected, a cheesy action movie, with "witty" lines and a totally off the wall villain.
You still alive?" If you're looking for a B movie that has pretty good action scenes and bad dialogue, this is the one for you.
Great improbable stunts too.Too bad Howie didn't take his shirt off, I would have given it another star..
firestorm is a cliffhanger type thriller starring Howie Long as Jesse Graves a heroic fire fighter who is up against a group of escaped convicts led by the Psycotic Randell who has kidnapped a bird watcher played by Suzi Amis and has caused a giant fire that is turning into a firestorm.now Jesse must now save the hostage stop the fire and take care of Randell.
firestorm is quite a fun little thriller Howie Long was quite a good hero shame he didn't make anymore action films after this.William Forsythe was absolutely brilliant as the main bad guy Randell William normally plays decent bad guys anyway like in out for justice and stone cold.even Scott Glenn is in it.
to end the review firestorm is a well made action thriller a bit clichéd but still cool 7 out of 10..
Hokey, instantly forgettable action movie which seems to be trying to cash in on moviegoers fascination with disaster flicks.
William Forsythe made the best performance of he actors but none of them really convinced me."Firestorms" plot seemed to be a mix from "Cliffhanger" and Ron Howards "Backdraft".
It´s just to bad that "Firestorm" doesen´t manage to be anything like either of this good films.
Don´t gett me wrong, "Firestorm" was an OK film in some ways.
One of those films that doesn't go anywhere, is predictable in what's going to happen, but at the same time, Firestorm is fairly harmless and one to watch with a delivered pizza.Definitely TV movie fare - whether intentional or not.A silly story of a felon who gets a forest fire started so he can escape with $27million.
I think this film had a lot of great action sequences, because it all seemed pretty realistic.
If he would just work at it, Long would make an excellent action hero.
Firestorm really reminded me of a lot like Cliffhanger, because they similar plot tones.
Let's face it, this film is no Ben-Hur, but if you like action films that don't require a high IQ, Firestorm is your right choice..
If you take it any other way of course it's going to become an awful movie in every aspect.I think everyone has said their piece about this film but I'd have to say the most notable scene in the entire movie, the one scene that had me laughing my head off, was when the bad guys pretended to be Canadian Fire-fighters.
Sometimes I just want to watch a movie for its entertainment value not its artistic content.
Don't try to rip off little bits of other action movies and do them with less panache.
With very little Firestorm.Many people have said that Howie Long's performance in this film is quite poor.
You can't call a film FIRESTORM and have only a few seconds worth of fire in it.
This in of itself makes the movie entertaining to watch, which is OK for a film that's really only intended to be a basic action flick.
Forsythe, Amis and Glen do a good job helping Howie Long through the scenes.
Even though he can't really act, Howie's likability and physical prowess make him fun to watch.
Firestorm is a fun little action flick with great visuals you can watch on a rainy day.
Toasty, by-the-numbers b-grade natural disaster action joint which has a stout-hearted Howie Long playing a smoke-jumper that has to tackle firestorms and William Forsythe's gleefully hammy bad guy persona.
Simple-minded writing makes sure that the bubblegum action flows with the blatant heroics coming to the forefront, which is led by Long and Glenn.
The probability of the stunts and action was even worse, and the fact that someone actually thought up this movie was the worst of all.
The best actor in the movie was the axe.
Stupid plot, stupid characters, stupid lines ("I hate it when you jump out of my airplane!"), and a Guinness record for saying the title 14,000 times throughout the movie earn it recognition to being one of the most laughably terrible movies in years.
One of the best scenes in the movie is when a house falls on Scott Glenn's leg.
Firestorm seems to be trying to put me over on how cool fighting forest fires are.
I think what I am trying to say is that Firestorm seems a bit of a stretch.Now, I am not saying that the men and women who fight forest fires in real life don't put themselves in danger while trying to save lives, homes, and peoples lifestyles.
Riding dirt bikes over cliffs, wrestling in a burning building and smashing peoples heads through boats to burn their faces off during a "firestorm" almost push this movie into so bad it's good territory.
It's almost the "Stone Cold" of fighting forest fires.I'd say Firestorm is the type of movie you shut your brain off and enjoy, but I don't think the movie gets to the point where your brain ever turns on.
Star rating side, this movie is entertaining, just not for the right reasons..
It is almost like someone took "Cheesey Movie Making 101." The casting is surprisingly good, the acting itself isn't bad, but script is humorously appalling and the characters are incredibly predictable and shallow.
(To name a few errors, you light a backfire to eliminate the fuels-not the oxygen, we do not fly aircraft at night, and, trust me on this one, EVERYONE wears sunglasses.) This is actually quite successful as a satire on action films.
I wasn't expecting too much just a shot 'em up flick but Howie Long surprised me.
The main spot where I had a problem was where you were supposed to figure out that Scott Glenn was the bad guy.The dialog there just didn't work.
I've seen it several times and it still never made sense, but if you can forget that it makes a great beer and popcorn movie..
Just knowing that Howie Long was actually trying is enough.
Aside from the movie's unforgivable flaws (bad script, weak melodrama, PLOT HOLES, half hearted acting, etc.) it does have a redeeming factor or two:  the fire scenes were extremely well done, and I really enjoyed the mountain scenery.
I think that if there were a decent actor in the lead and had the script been tweaked just a bit (or a lot) this film might have been better.
STAR RATING:*****Unmissable****Very Good***Okay**You Could Go Out For A Meal Instead*Avoid At All CostsFirestorm is an intently dire actioner,which worst of it's many hinderances are it's cliched,tacky dialogue ,and listless,nigh on gormless,acting.Howie Long hardly has a Dolph Lundgren future in action movies,William Forsythe is hardly at his Out For Justice best here,whilst Scott Glenn merely reflects himself as a grumbling old timer,and Suzy Amis is placelessly over bearing as Long's birdwatching sidekick.Concoct into this lame brained mix a leadenly cardboard story,picketed from the least involving aspects of Stallone's Cliffhanger,and some from The River Wild,and it's all the more frustrating just to see an involving and intriguing premise about forest fire fighters,and the terminology involved in their jobs,wasted on such clunky fodder as this.Not worth watching.*.
It really is nothing more than a hunted in the woods movie, with really bad c.g.i. fires everywhere.
Howie Long and especially Scott Glenn, are totally wasted by a script that pulls one implausible stunt after another as our heroes escape cliffhanger after cliffhanger.
If you like films that insult your intelligence, then "Firestorm" is for you.
The movie is just some loosely connected action scenes that are made with unimpressive staging and mediocre special effects.
It can't make a movie by itself.Re-watch Twister for a relatively plot-less disaster/action movie done right.
Firestorm is a rather standard action yarn with the hero (H.Long) one of those fearless firefighters who specialize in parachuting into the danger zones.
All that shows is he should have walked in like a normal human being.The fire scenes themselves are pretty impressive, as the pic needs to show a forest on fire.
I enjoy a deep, intelligent thought provoking movie but for pure entertainment i like to turn to the likes of Firestorm because it is hilarious, pure camp.
Howie Long's performance makes any of Segal's look Oscar deserving.
As a fan of Howie Long's (i.e., as a T.V. sports commentator/announcer and a football player) I enjoyed the movie.
I thought that the movie was as good any of the many other mindless action adventures that I enjoy watching.
Fun Action film for the Fans.
Firestorm is one of those movies in which the moviegoer should be able to have fun watching this movie.
Firestorm has good special effects, excellent action scenes, and a star who in my opinion is one of the coolest men in America.
Firestorm has good actors, such as Scott Glenn and William Forsythe, who have the experience to make a meaningless character much more than that.
Howie Long does an exceptional job in Firestorm.
Hopefully, we'll be seeing a lot more films with Howie Long..
I only watched this movie because it had Scott Glenn in it and I can safely say he is by far the best thing about it.
Surprisingly enough, the worst thing about Firestorm was not Howie Long.
I wasn't ever sure what William Forsythe, who has been brilliant in his other films, was trying to do.
Very good movie!.
Firestorm is an good action film that casts Howie Long, Scott Glenn, William Forsythe, Suzy Amis, Barry Pepper, and Vladimir Kulich!
Long was very good in the film.
The action is really good and the fire scenes are really are really excellent.
If you like Howie Long, Scott Glenn, William Forsythe and the rest of the cast I've mentioned above and exciting non-stop action films then I Strongly recommend this film!.
The actors are generic stereotypes or look-a-likes (Janeane Garofalo laughed at your offer, eh?), the script is a random cut-and-paste from various other films, the plot is irrelevant, but the cinematics and score are suprisingly good.
Howie Long delivers the performance he was destined for!.
Jesse Graves (Howie Long) and Wynt Perkins (Scott Glenn) are firemen from a special force dedicated to extinguish fire in forests.
This is another average and full of clichés action movie.
This is another average and full of clichés action movie.
William Forsythe acts well as a sadistic criminal, but most of the plot is so ridiculous that makes laugh.
Therefore, a forgettable action movie.
Firestorm is a movie that people who are 15 and older might enjoy to watch.
The acting in the movie truly gives the film its cohesiveness.
Firestorm is not the best nor the worst film ever.
Firestorm is a movie which helps to humanize firefighters.
Standard, innocuous, and incendiary this rather enjoyable Action Movie is light entertainment with a soft R rating.
Pretty tame as these things go, it has some death defying dumb stunts and the whole thing is a notch above a TV Movie and can be quite enjoyable in a humdrum sort of way.If you don't expect your leading Actor to act or can tolerate a script that is dampened by a standard re-write of a glutted genre, then settle in for a Movie that doesn't ask much and is a jump into a not so hot Movie, but it doesn't leave you cold either.William Forsythe (has he ever disappointed) once again is a force to be reckoned on screen and steals the show with his Evil stare and detached dementia.
Some of the worst computer graphics ever seen, a "performance" so wooden from Howie Long it makes Stallone look like Ben Kingsley, and scenes that are so unrealistic Ed Wood would not have filmed them.
And poor Suzi Amis; You'd think James Cameron might have helped his gal get better movie roles..
Watch Howie Long on the NFL on FOX Instead..
Former NFL star Howie Long tries to make leading man status with this silly and really ridiculous would-be-action-thriller that is little more than a long puff of smoke.
Long stars as a fire-fighter in the forest who believes that some fellow fire-fighters are trapped in the wilderness, but really it is just an elaborate trick by some escaped convicts led by William Forsythe.
All the characters take illogical decisions to move the plot forward; plot twists are sketched out but never fully developped; and this movie can win competition in "density of stupid lines on a square meter of film" category.
Why on hell studio took Howie Long as leading man in the film, where Scott Glenn, Susy Amis and William Forsythe all play second fiddle, is not quite clear, but hopefully nobody will make the same mistake twice.
Long who looks like parody on superhero.
It really disappointed me.I was looking forward to seeing it for a while and when I finally rented it I was expecting an action-packed thrill ride.Instead I got a dull,cheesy,poorly-acted waste of time.There wasn't enough action for me,plus it was kind of boring.I felt like fast forwarding through most of the movie.The effects at the end were just pathetic.Normally I can tolerate bad acting and effects but not in this movie..
Howie Long stars as the smokejumper named Jesse, who "hates water," so to speak.
Despite his illustriouscareer as an NFL game commentary, Long's acting in the movie was atrocious.
However, thanks to his buff physique and his reputation as a pro-football player, Long does manage to pull off as a decent action hero.
He just needs to work on his lines!Sadly, the other actors in "Firestorm" aren't exactly Oscar- caliber either, because they all seem bored and unenthusiastic on what's going on.
Even the usually talented Scott Glen andWilliam Forsythe (looking a lot like a fat John Malkovich in the movie!) failed to stir up any interest for the viewer.But of course, the real attraction is the awesome special FXfound in this movie.
Too bad the performances andthe droll script (especially by our hero, Long!) weren't big enough to topple the larger-than-life effects!.
"Firestorm" got some nice special effects, and even some good ideas.
But it suffers greatly due to bad acting (especially from Howie Long), and bad script writing.
Howie Long as an actor..incredible..the scenes of the supersonic flames...deserve an Oscar for funniest SF.
Never before in my life have I wanted the villains to kill off the heros more than in this movie.
Howie Long is just laughable - he's trying, he really is, poor guy - as are the semi-attempts at character development that happen in the first half hour or so.
You cannot see the trees for the testosterone in director Dean Semler's synthetic outdoors action saga "Firestorm," starring sportscaster Howie Long as a stalwart smoke jumper who parachutes into raging Wyoming forest fires to rescue little gals and grown-up gals from getting cremated.
Any sparks that Howie ignited as an actor in John Woo's "Broken Arrow" sputter in "Firestorm" with Long's pulp diction performance.
Chris Soth's one-dimensional script doesn't help Howie much as escaped convicts and flaming infernos challenge his physical prowess.
Shaye's comeuppance is horribly graphic but richly deserved for his murderous demeanor."Firestorm" follows clench-jawed Jesse Graves (ex-Raiders football star Howie Long) as he thwarts Shaye's escape.
Matching fists and wits with Shaye's motley crew, our brawny firefighter hero sneaks off with Jennifer and they evade Randy Earl until a climactic fight on a lake about to be engulfed in a withering blaze."Firestorm" derives its title from the phenomenon which occurs when two fires collide and suck all of the oxygen out of the air, creating one of Mother Nature's nasty nuclear-style blasts which destroys everything in it.
Sentimentality drips off the script at points, especially at the end when Jennifer learns that she has been incubating two bird eggs during this maelstrom of action."Dances with Wolves" Oscar-winning photographer Dean Semler makes his less than inflammatory directorial debut with "Firestorm." When he takes his cameras up for aerial shots of British Columbia, you find your breath catching in your throat.
Howie Long should be promoted to Master Actor.
I wish I could throw an axe like Howie Long.
I really love how the whole plot was summarized in about 10 minutes during the entire feature, this allowed for more Howie Long content.
If I could make one wish for anything in the whole world, it would be for Howie Long to restart(or start) his film career..
So much for internal continuity .Maybe I shouldn`t be so harsh because FIRESTORM isn`t a film that`s supposed to make you think .
This Film Belongs in a Firestorm.
Firestorm (1998): Dir: Dean Semler / Cast: Howie Long, Suzy Amis, Scott Glenn, William Forsythe, Barry Pepper: Dense project seen dozens of times with all of its dull clichés.
Howie Long plays a firefighting hero who battles the villains and gets the girl.
Long is there to appear big and beat up criminals and looking bad doing so.
William Forsythe is laughable as the villain who makes nasty remarks but ultimately it is obvious that Long will kick his ass up over his head.