you always have to be careful with the first official studio release out of the gate each year .
they 're obviously films for which the studios have no great hopes ( having missed both the deadline for academy award eligibility and the big box - office holiday season ) .
combine that with howie long 's first starring action role , and
you 've got a doozy of a movie
that , while not as bad as it could have been , is n't a very good film .
howie stars as an ace smokejumper ( a firefighter who parachutes into forest fires unreachable from the ground ) .
in the slightly contrived opening scenes , we witness his heroism in action , as he , and his mentor ( played by scott glenn ) attempt to rescue a small girl and her dog from an oncoming forest fire .
william forsythe plays the bad guy , a mass murderer who has several million dollars tucked away to help fund his jailbreak .
he ( and five convict cohorts ) manages to get selected for firefighting duty when a woodland blaze just happens to ignite nearby .
his escape plan bets a lot on the laxity of the guards , but ( since there must be a movie )
luck is with him .
soon the now - escaped convicts are masquerading as canadian firefighters .
why canadian ? who knows , eh ? along the way they pick up a pretty birdwatcher ( suzy amis ) to be their hostage .
enter howie long .
he 's called in to help fight the blaze , and when he spots the group of " ground pounders " , apparently lost , he parachutes in to help .
when he discovers their true identity , he is the only thing standing between them and escape , and the only hope of help for the hostage .
long 's acting talents are above those of , say , steven seagal , but not by much .
although his delivery is mostly flat and wooden
, he 's a likeable hero , and there are some hints here and there that he may get better .
the script does n't help him out any , however .
all too often , it veers into the realm of the unintentionally funny .
the dialogue is strictly b - movie material , and the plotting relies too heavily on coincidences to be believable .
long 's co - stars are a mixed bag .
at least they 're all comfortable in their respective roles .
forsythe has the scenery - chewing villain down cold , down cold , and scott glenn is always enjoyable to watch , even when he does n't seem to be stretching his talents ( as is definitely the case here ) .
suzy amis plays peril pretty well , but is n't given much more to do .
some of the nature and wildfire shots are interesting , but many are rather bland .
you 'd think that the director , dean semler , a former cinematographer , would at least produce a film with interesting visuals .
that 's not the case .
there 's a lack of originality to nearly all the sequences .
. .
we 've seen this stuff before .
it 's not the most auspicious start to 1998 , but it could have been worse ( just think back to 1996 's debut , bio - dome ) .
however , after a month of oscar - caliber pictures , a movie like firestorm at least gives you some perspective on how good those movies really were .
in fact , there 's a good chance that some of them are still playing near you . . .
slightly contrived there 's a lack of originality his delivery is mostly flat and wooden you 've got a doozy of a movie many are rather bland long 's acting talents are above those of , say , steven seagal , but not by much relies too heavily on coincidences to be believable it veers into the realm of the unintentionally funny