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Why so much hype?

Brilliant and touching

Good films always raise compelling questions, whether the format is fiction or documentary fact.

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

I remember watching this as a kid and I thought it was really awesome. Having watched it now as an adult, I realized how many plot flaws there are in the film. It is also not credible. Sure, it is fantasy after all, but the real-life events in this film are not plausible. I also found the film too drawn out at times. Drew Barrymore was very good though. Despite all the flaws, lots of action and special effects ensures an entertaining movie.

Stephen King might one of the most well known writers nowadays, and he usually has some kind of obsession with paranormal events, in this case affecting a young little girl and his father, who are trying to run away from some evil government forces that want to capture them to do experiments.The story is great, the two main characters are well written and are easy to connect with. And during the first half of the movie it flowed well and all. But around the half of the movie, it stops and gets slower and somehow, more boring. It still keeps the interest during some tense moments but it goes down a lot from the great start. Drew Barrymore as the little girl, Charlie was fantastic and her performance really makes you care about what could happen to her or her dad, Andy, played by David Keith.The visual effects, although they weren't perfect, were great for the not-so-high budget this movie had. The scenes with the young Drew Barrymore using her telekinetic powers were great and interesting to watch. And the atmosphere is created in part thanks to the great electronic score by Tangerine Dream.I would recommend this movie to any Stephen King, as I'm sure they would enjoy it a lot.

Great special effects almost "save" a very stupid movie. "The Fury" made 6 years earlier is a far better concept film. Like the still-popular "X-Men" type films, how or why such genetic abnormalities and powers exist is never explained. Mutated parents=mutated kid. Blame the government! King usually mentions the original author in his forwards to avoid outright plagiarism charges. Big deal. Too much like "Carrie" which has a far better premise and delivery. Here, cute and angelic Drew Barrymore is in reality a cold-blooded killer and has repeated temper tantrums with horrific results. I am unable to have any sympathy for her character "Charlie". The fireball ending kills off 50 to 100 people or so. Mostly faceless agents, firefighters and cops, not to mention most of the principle players. I just don't like it because the special effects are too good for the weak premise. Why would she "turn herself in" to The New York Times at the end? She would certainly be jailed, killed or institutionalized for the rest of her natural life! Would Shirley Temple have made a movie like this? Fun only if you like to see miniature pyrotechnics and hysterical extras running around in fire-suits. I guess that's why it's a horror film?

The timing of this movie was bad, as bad as the Blue Bird that Shirley Temple did. Although the Blue Bird was worse than Firestarter by far, people did not want to see Drew setting CIA agents on fire. They were more into Irreconcilable Differences, a much better movie starring Ryan O'neal and Shelley Long. I loved Firestarter later when it came out on VHS. Drew Barrymore is not a very good actress at all, she and Mandy Moore have the worst speech impedement since Garry Hixon herself. They live in glass houses, Mandy Moore is a complete nobody, and Drew disses her father , and is now back with Jade, John Barrymore was great, Lionel Barrymore was great, Ethel Barrymore was great, and in I love Jennie or Peggy or whatever. Steven Spielberg, thats a good one. Instead of hiring 16 year old Garry Hixon for ET he hired cry baby Henry Thomas. A total sissy.