Firestorm is a 1998

1998 in film

-Events:* February 14 - Sharon Stone marries Phil Bronstein.* Former child star Gary Coleman is charged with assaulting a young female bus driver at a California shopping mall.-Top grossing films:...

 action

Action film

Action film is a film genre where one or more heroes is thrust into a series of challenges that require physical feats, extended fights and frenetic chases...

 thriller film directed by Dean Semler

Dean Semler

Dean Semler, A.C.S., A.S.C. is an Australian cinematographer. Over his career, he has worked as a cinematographer, camera operator, director, second unit director, and assistant director.-Early years:...

, and starring Howie Long

Howie Long

Howard "Howie" Matthew Moses Long is an American former National Football League defensive end and actor. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2000...

, Scott Glenn

Scott Glenn

Theodore Scott Glenn is an American actor. His roles have included Wes Hightower in Urban Cowboy , astronaut Alan Shepard in The Right Stuff ,Emmett in Silverado , Commander Bart Mancuso in The Hunt for Red October , Jack Crawford in The Silence of the Lambs and The Wise Man in Sucker Punch -Early...

, William Forsythe

William Forsythe (actor)

William Forsythe is an American actor, known for playing "tough guy" roles. He is also a writer, and has several short stories that are set to be published.-Early life:...

 and Suzy Amis

Suzy Amis

Susan Elizabeth "Suzy" Amis is an American former film actress and former model.-Career:Born in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, Amis first worked as a Ford model before she began acting in the 1980s. She made her feature film debut in the 1985 comedy film Fandango, opposite Kevin Costner...

.

Plot summary

The plot involves a group of Wyoming State convicts who stage an escape with the help of a smokejumper

Smokejumper

A smokejumper is a wildland firefighter who parachutes into a remote area to combat wildfires.Smokejumpers are most often deployed to fires that are extremely remote. The risks associated with this method of personnel deployment are mitigated by an extremely well developed training program that has...

 turned arsonist on the outside. The story begins when Shaye, who had stolen 37 million dollars four years previously and hidden it in the Wyoming forest, escapes from prison with five other convicts to retrieve the money. They pose as Canadian firefighters and take Jennifer (Suzy Amis

Suzy Amis

Susan Elizabeth "Suzy" Amis is an American former film actress and former model.-Career:Born in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, Amis first worked as a Ford model before she began acting in the 1980s. She made her feature film debut in the 1985 comedy film Fandango, opposite Kevin Costner...

), a bird watcher, hostage along the way. Jesse Graves (Howie Long

Howie Long

Howard "Howie" Matthew Moses Long is an American former National Football League defensive end and actor. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2000...

) is a smokejumper

Smokejumper

A smokejumper is a wildland firefighter who parachutes into a remote area to combat wildfires.Smokejumpers are most often deployed to fires that are extremely remote. The risks associated with this method of personnel deployment are mitigated by an extremely well developed training program that has...

, who must find a way to stop Shaye and his group of convicts and save Jennifer at the same time.

Film inaccuracies

The film was criticized in the wildland firefighting communities for technical inaccuracies such as depicting smokejumpers freefalling. The film also shows the smoke jumpers falling with their tools, which are normally sent down separately.

Cast

Actor	Role
Howie Long Howie Long Howard "Howie" Matthew Moses Long is an American former National Football League defensive end and actor. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2000...	Jesse Graves
Scott Glenn Scott Glenn Theodore Scott Glenn is an American actor. His roles have included Wes Hightower in Urban Cowboy , astronaut Alan Shepard in The Right Stuff ,Emmett in Silverado , Commander Bart Mancuso in The Hunt for Red October , Jack Crawford in The Silence of the Lambs and The Wise Man in Sucker Punch -Early...	Wynt Perkins
William Forsythe William Forsythe (actor) William Forsythe is an American actor, known for playing "tough guy" roles. He is also a writer, and has several short stories that are set to be published.-Early life:...	Randall Alexander Shaye
Suzy Amis Suzy Amis Susan Elizabeth "Suzy" Amis is an American former film actress and former model.-Career:Born in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, Amis first worked as a Ford model before she began acting in the 1980s. She made her feature film debut in the 1985 comedy film Fandango, opposite Kevin Costner...	Jennifer
Christianne Hirt	Monica
Garwin Sanford Garwin Sanford Garwin Sanford is a Canadian actor best known for his portrayal of Narim in Stargate SG-1 and Simon Wallis in Stargate Atlantis....	Pete
Sebastian Spence Sebastian Spence Sebastian Spence is an actor who played the lead role as Cade Foster in the TV series First Wave.Spence is the son of the late playwright Michael Cook and playwright and actress Janis Spence...	Cowboy
Michael Greyeyes	Andy
Barry Pepper Barry Pepper Barry Robert Pepper is a Canadian actor. He is best known for playing roles like Sergeant Michael Strank in the Clint Eastwood film, Flags of Our Fathers, Private Daniel Jackson in Saving Private Ryan, Roger Maris in 61*, Ned Pepper in True Grit and for his recent role as Robert F...	Packer
Vladimir Kulich Vladimir Kulich Vladimir Kulich is a Czech-Canadian actor.He is best known for his roles as Buliwyf in the film The 13th Warrior and as The Beast in the television series Angel. In 1995 he appeared as Olafsson in the X-Files episode "Død Kalm."...	Karge
Tom McBeath	Loomis
Benjamin Ratner	Wilkins
Jonathon Young	Sherman
Chilton Crane	Tina’s Mom
Robyn Driscoll	Tina’s Dad
Alexandria Mitchell	Tina
Terry Kelly	Lawyer
David Fredericks	Guard
Gavin Buhr	Childs
Danny Wattley	Moody
Derek Hamilton	Dwyer
Adrien Dorval	Belcher
Jon Cuthbert	Davis
Sean Campbell	Deputy
Deryl Hayes	Sheriff Garrett

• Scott Glenn, who played the firefighter
  Firefighter
  Firefighters are rescuers extensively trained primarily to put out hazardous fires that threaten civilian populations and property, to rescue people from car incidents, collapsed and burning buildings and other such situations...
  
   turned arsonist in the film, also starred in Backdraft
  Backdraft (film)
  Backdraft is a 1991 action thriller film directed by Ron Howard and written by Gregory Widen. The film stars Kurt Russell, William Baldwin, Scott Glenn, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Rebecca De Mornay, Donald Sutherland, and Robert De Niro. Jason Gedrick and J. T. Walsh co-star in the film...
  
  (1991
  1991 in film
  The year 1991 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*April 28 - Bonnie Raitt marries actor Michael O'Keefe in New York* Terminator 2: Judgment Day, became one of the landmarks for science fiction action films with its groundbreaking visual effects from Industrial Light & Magic.*November...
  
  ), where, ironically, also played the part of a Chicago firefighter who was an arsonist.

Reception

The film opened to very negative reviews, receiving a Rotten Tomatoes

Rotten Tomatoes

Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...

certified fresh rating of only 5%.

Box office

The film failed at the box office as well; it opened in 7th place with a paltry $3.8 million (behind six films that had all been released at least three weeks earlier) and took in only $8.1 million dollars in the United States during its theatrical run.