Firestarter
Universal Pictures | Release Date: May 13, 2022 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
32
METASCORE
Generally unfavorable reviews based on 29 Critic Reviews
Positive:
3
Mixed:
12
Negative:
14
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
38
Slant MagazineRocco T. ThompsonMay 13, 2022
This new Firestarter is an almost anachronistically short production whose elements just sit there like mishandled kindling. Read full review
38
ReelViewsJames BerardinelliMay 13, 2022
Few authors have been as badly victimized by Hollywood as King; this is just another title to add to the list. Read full review
38
Movie NationRoger MooreMay 12, 2022
What starts out feeling lean and stylishly stripped-down, with a faintly-creepy young lead, waters her down and winds up playing cut-rate, abridged and cheap. Read full review
30
The New York TimesGlenn KennyMay 13, 2022
This movie brushes aside a lot of things — the most shocking thing about it is how soggily noncommittal it is. Read full review
30
CNNBrian LowryMay 13, 2022
A new do-over that can barely generate enough heat to qualify as a thriller. Read full review
25
The A.V. ClubRichard NewbyMay 13, 2022
The best thing that can be said about this new iteration of Firestarter is that it at least gave us a new score by John Carpenter, Cody Carpenter, and Daniel A. Davies. The rest feels like a waste of a talented cast and crew that somehow, against all odds, makes the 1984 film seem like a staggering achievement in the realm of King adaptations. Read full review
25
The Associated PressLindsey BahrMay 13, 2022
There wasn’t a great reason to take another shot at Firestarter. Besides, even if it’s lacking in originality, it’s also lacking something even more important: A personality. Read full review
25
RogerEbert.comBrian TallericoMay 13, 2022
A film that goes through the motions with such apathetic predictability and pure cinematic laziness that you may want to set whatever device you’re watching it on ablaze. Read full review
23
TheWrapWilliam BibbianiMay 13, 2022
The new Firestarter is a lot like the old Firestarter, if the old Firestarter was duller, cheaper, and devoid of almost all meaning. Read full review
20
Austin ChronicleRichard WhittakerMay 17, 2022
Nothing here really works. Even a surprisingly flat score from horror master John Carpenter (who was originally slated to direct the '84 version) can't save Firestarter from being a colossal misfire. Read full review
20
Rolling StoneJason BaileyMay 16, 2022
The effects are dodgy and unconvincing. The emotional investment is nil. The running time is only 94 minutes long, thus proving there may, in fact, be a merciful higher power out there. It’s still a four-alarm disaster. Read full review
20
The GuardianBenjamin LeeMay 13, 2022
No one here seems to know what they’re doing and, more importantly, why. A strong contender for 2022’s most pointless movie. Read full review
16
The PlaylistRobert DanielsMay 13, 2022
It’s unsettling how every minute of this 94-minute flick delivers a new level of boredom. You have to feel for the actors. Read full review
10
New York Magazine (Vulture)Bilge EbiriMay 13, 2022
Perhaps what’s most dispiriting about this Firestarter is how visually impoverished it is. Read full review
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