Though this overlong tale mostly regurgitates King's source material, McDowell and Moreau bring real conviction to their Svengali-Trilby roles; the film's only other assets are the incendiary special effects and the camp value of poor Charlie's literally sizzling sex scenes.

Worth it just to look at Moreau.

Throws off a lot of sparks but it never really ignites. [9 March 2002]

Viewers who invest two nights in this overdone sequel to the 1980 Stephen King movie undoubtedly will feel burned.

There are some fabulous pyrotechnics in the Sci Fi Channel's miniseries Firestarter: Rekindled, but they could have been put to better use. Like incinerating the dreadful script, for which writer Philip Eisner should be burned at the stake. Or, failing that, simply tossing the film footage into the flames and destroying this abomination before it got out and embarrassed everyone involved. With the possible exception of acting and direction so bad they're unintentionally funny, there's absolutely nothing of redeeming value in "Rekindled" whatsoever. [8 March 2002]