Firestarter 2 (2002) *** (out of 4) Charlie (Marguerite Moreau) is now all grown up and in hiding when an agent (Danny Nucci) finally tracks her down. The agents quickly connects with the troubled girl and gets her to agree to go back to the lab with him but Dr. (Malcolm McDowell) is still evil and wanting to use her for her power. I was rather nervous walking into this nearly three hour sequel especially since I didn't care too much for the first film but I was pleasantly surprised at how much this kept me caught up in the story. However, let's get it straight that this here is in no way, shape or form a sequel. Events from the first movie are shown here but they're being done by different actors and even different things happen here. Many major plot points from the first film are changed and altered here so this is basically just a remake but with much more detail. I thought the story itself was very well done here and it's certainly explained much better than in the first film. The thoughts behind the experiment are better detailed and I thought the film also did a very good job at showing the bad side of being Charlie and on the run her entire life. I really thought the personal drama between the characters were believable and it certainly helped keep you invested in such a long movie. The performances were also extremely good with Moreau doing a nice job in the main role. She was very believable in the part and certainly made you care about what happened to her. McDowell plays crazy without a problem and makes for a great villain and we've also got Dennis Hopper playing a psychic and we all know that he always adds some good entertainment value. Nucci was also good and managed to have some nice chemistry with Moreau. The film still has some pretty big flaws including the horrid CGI effects and especially all of the stuff dealing with fire. The ending is also rather weak and should have been done in a much better way. With that said, for the most part this is a good little film and certainly much better than the original. Just don't go into it expecting a sequel.

it's been a little while since i've seen this sequel to the 1984 original.however,i do remember that i really liked the girl who played the grown up version of Charlie.i thought she did well in the role.there's a lot more excitement in this one,i believe.it's much higher energy.again,the acting is serviceable,though the plot seems sillier than it did in the first movie.also,clocking in at nearly 3 hours running time is a real negative here.i think the story could have been told in much less time than that.they certainly could have shaved off an hour.but as sequels go(other than the long running time)this movie is not half bad.for me,Fire Starter 2:Rekindled is a 5.5/10

The Sci Fi Channel almost had a hit with "Firestarter: Rekindled."Almost.For those who read the Stephen King novel or has seen the 1984 movie version of the novel with Drew Barrymore, stop right where you are. They have taking a HUGE liberty with both. In the novel, there were only 3 remaining subjects of the Lot 6 program (Charlie's parents and Richardson). This version has an agency that is bumping off the original participants by promising a cash settlement from the program. Danny Nucci plays Vincent Sforza, working for the agency in finding these people, although her doesn't know what happens once they're found. One of the people on the list is Charlie McGee, now a young woman (Marguerite Moreau). Seems that Charlie has some issues of her own. Whenever she gets "excited," she gets VERY hot, so hot that things catch fire (In one instance, she smolders an entire hotel room). She's also been living her life on the run ever since her parents were killed by the government agency known as The Shop. One of their operatives, Rainbird (Malcolm McDowell), wants Charlie, even after she turns him into a charred lunatic. He wants Charlie bad enough to kill (And he likes using a pencil as a weapon!). He's also done something else with the Lot 6 experiment: 6 boys with individual powers (One is an energy vampire, another with a killer voice)that are being used to create an ultimate weapon.A lot of questions were left unanswered: What happened to The Shop and the Manders? There are a lot of plot holes: Are we supposed to swallow the fact that Rainbird who, in both the novel and 1984 version was burnt to a crispy critter, yet manages to survive without looking MORE disfigured? And what's the thing with Richardson(A bored looking Dennis Hopper)? He doesn't really serve any real purpose other than to claim that he knows what's going to happen. They recreate Charlie's early story rather than use the footage from the original to keep the story in balance, also changing her parent's fate.If you could get over these problems, then you could really enjoy the film on a decent level. If you're a purist of the novel and the 1984 version, then you are going to spend all of your time picking the film apart. The saving grace is the 6 boys. They don't know the real story behind Rainbird, that they could possibly end up in the same situation as Charlie.

A Minor SpoilerIn the 80's, Stephen King's Firestarter was a successful movie in Brazil, with the lovely Drew Barrymore. However, this sequel is horrible: bad actors, senseless screenplay and a waste of unnecessary special effects. The name of Malcom McDowell in the credits is a synonym of a bad movie. Remove the wonderful 'A Clockwork Orange', 'Cat People' and 'Star Trek Generation' from his extensive filmography, and what rests? Danny Nucci keeps a dummy expressionless face along the whole story, no matter what he is doing. Charlie (Marguerite Moreau) seems to lose control of her power only when having sex. And why destroy the whole town in the last scene? Wouldn't it be enough to kill her enemy John Rainbird? Dennis Hopper keeps his arms down in the most of his scenes. Does he have a problem with his arms? My vote is five.Title (Brazil): "O Jogo dos Espíritos" ("The Spirit Game")