For those that might not have watched the rebooted Stephen King movie there are going to be spoilers ahead, but those that have already watched it might feel that the ending was a bit different than what they remember. Some folks would gladly double down and state that the movie wasn’t that bad, but that it could have used better pacing and a little more exposition that might have gone a long way toward making this movie feel complete. But there could be a reason for this, and it could have been made clear by the ending if people were paying attention. Giving this movie a sequel might be the way to go when it comes to fully explaining the story, and possibly giving a look at Charlie after she’s gained control of her powers. Years ago there was a sequel, Firestarter: Rekindled, that took a look at Charlie as a mature woman who was still being sought out by those that wanted to experiment on her. The only trick was that other gifted children had been gathered who were being used to hunt Charlie down.
That might not be such a bad idea save for the fact that it’s already been done. But at the same time, it could be an idea that someone else can look at and use for inspiration in bringing another sequel to this story. These days, that doesn’t appear to be a general idea, however, since if something has been done before, many filmmakers will end up deciding not to do the same thing again in favor of doing something that looks the same, but isn’t, or so they claim. It doesn’t sound like it makes a lot of sense, but to those that don’t mind being fooled into thinking that these ideas are new and innovative, it’s how things get done. That might sound a little too cynical, but those of us that have been seeing this happen since the 80s and 90s aren’t that easily misled.
Thankfully, seeing another Firestarter sequel would be fun, but it would definitely need to be updated, and it might need a slightly different direction. Firestarter: Rekindled was kind of a fun movie, but it was obviously not what many people envisioned. The idea behind it though, that Charlie was on the run and had to contend with something new that she didn’t understand, is still a good idea that might be something that can be pushed again, but perhaps in a different way. The advance of technology can create a very different story even if it has a familiar look, and against someone like Charlie, it does feel that another story could come along that might see a true challenge that mighty stymie her just enough to make things a challenge. The overall criticism of the reboot feels a little unfair since people are likely remembering the original in a light that makes it nearly impossible for anything that’s not an instant epic to overcome. I’ve been guilty of this in the past and understand the sentimentality that comes with keeping one’s favorite movies in mind versus enjoying the reboots/remakes that come along.
But the Firestarter reboot does still have promise since the effects were better and the storyline, despite suffering from an issue with pacing, is still strong enough to make a comeback if that happens to be the plan. The fact that many people are going to put their own spin on things and try to explain why it’s not worth the effort, or why the reboot was horrible, are likely those that think the original movie was perfect, and don’t see any value in this current version. Hey, we’re all entitled to our beliefs, but at the same time the stories we love do have to evolve or they’re going to stagnate and grow stale, even if they’re continually built up in our memories. Firestarter is a great story since it deals with the idea of virtually unlimited destructive power wrapped up in the form of a young girl who would eventually become a young woman that could burn the world down if she cut loose. But how people approach this story is kind of par for the course since, like many stories, people see what they want and allow their thoughts to go in the direction that suits them.
A sequel for this movie would be great since much like Rekindled it could go a long toward explaining what happened to Charlie later on and whether or not she learned to control her power in a much greater way. But whether or not people are willing to sit through another Firestarter movie is hard to say, since it does feel that a lot of fans are bemoaning the fact that this movie didn’t turn out to be an instant epic as they wanted. There’s still a chance for it to get better and a hope that it will.
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