Firestorm (1998)

"Howie Long scores as a hero...The most spectacular fire scenes since Backdraft.  Jeanne Wolfe's Hollywood
"...Red-hot action.  Good Day Sacramento
"Firestorm is a raging, nonstop, technical marvel, and it delivers the goods.  San Francisco Examiner
"Rages with adventurous appeal.  Kevin Thomas, Los Angeles Times

Editor's Note Sinister convicts revolt when their prison work detail is dispatched to battle a roaring wildfire. But their carefully conceived escape plan doesn't account for skilled "smoke jumper" Jesse Graves, who parachutes in to mete out justice and rescue their hostages. A by-the-numbers debut for both former football defenseman Long, in his first leading role, and former cinematographer Semler.

	Howie Long
	Scott Glenn
	Suzy Amis
	William Forsythe
	Dean Semler - Director
	Thomas Hammel - Producer
	Matthew Weisman - Producer
	Chris Soth - Screenplay

Los Angeles Times
"...It moves as fast as the raging forest fire it captures so spectacularly well....It has big-screen panache in its stunts, camerawork and special effects..." 01/16/1998 p.C16

San Francisco Examiner 8 of 10
Firestorm is a raging, nonstop, technical marvel, and it delivers the goods like a successful science project: by the numbers, using the Scientific Method. Trouble is, it has cardboard characters, contrived situations and slim plotting. The result is a Movie with a capital "M" - an amazing piece of derring-do that merely goes down well with your popcorn. There's a lot of technical firepower behind this movie, so perhaps its visual wowie isn't so surprising. It's directed by Dean Semler, who won an Academy Award for his cinematography on Dances With Wolves. - G. Allen Johnson

Box Office Magazine 7 of 10
As part of a three-picture deal with Fox following his debut in Broken Arrow, ex-Raider Howie Long is up to his neck in multiple stunt situations as he portrays a fearless smokejumper who doesn't know the meaning of the word "can't". When a freak fire sparks, he goes to investigate and unknowingly becomes a thorn in the side of a ruthless escaped convict, Shaye (The Rock's William Forsythe), who has gone to great lengths to be reunited with over $30 million...The thrilling part of the film is watching the well-executed depiction of the furiously raging fire that seems to have full access to the elemental forces in mother nature's arsenal. - Dwayne E. Leslie