A couple of campers, remembering Smokey the Bear's admonition that "only you can prevent forest fires" dutifully attempt to put out their campfire with water, only to be possessed/roasted by some angry fire entity (which occasionally growls or roars) that doesn't like water much. From there it torches or possesses anybody it can find, but it's out in the wilderness, so there aren't too many victims available. It's a smart fire creature, though, so it plots and executes a plan to...uhh, do something nasty, apparently.
Guess what? A government conspiracy, led by a lunatic who spouts off out-of-context biblical scriptures about fires, is trying to use the thing to wipe out people he doesn't like. Can you say "two-cliches-for-the-price-of-one?" Can you further believe this nut job with his "burning desire" is named (ready?) Cooke? Egad. His able assistant, unaware of his intentions, helps a firefighter find a way to extinguish the menace, with the predictable results as to who's going to end up french-fried and who survives. Theories about the invader abound: not only is it accused of apocalyptic tendencies, but apparently it came from solar flares. Because of these disjointed and impossible to reconcile backgrounds, plot holes proliferate faster than the charred bodies of victims. For example, why didn't these pyrotechnic wraiths sizzle the whole planet long ago?
The acting actually rises above the script and breathes some life into the characters' back stories and motivations. Special effects get a split-decision: some are impressive and interesting, others are just fake looking and cheap. Overall: watchable. However, nobody involved need write an Oscar acceptance speech.
Guess what? A government conspiracy, led by a lunatic who spouts off out-of-context biblical scriptures about fires, is trying to use the thing to wipe out people he doesn't like. Can you say "two-cliches-for-the-price-of-one?" Can you further believe this nut job with his "burning desire" is named (ready?) Cooke? Egad. His able assistant, unaware of his intentions, helps a firefighter find a way to extinguish the menace, with the predictable results as to who's going to end up french-fried and who survives. Theories about the invader abound: not only is it accused of apocalyptic tendencies, but apparently it came from solar flares. Because of these disjointed and impossible to reconcile backgrounds, plot holes proliferate faster than the charred bodies of victims. For example, why didn't these pyrotechnic wraiths sizzle the whole planet long ago?
The acting actually rises above the script and breathes some life into the characters' back stories and motivations. Special effects get a split-decision: some are impressive and interesting, others are just fake looking and cheap. Overall: watchable. However, nobody involved need write an Oscar acceptance speech.