Superfire Starring D.B. Sweeney, Diane Farr Directed by Steven Quale Rated PG-13 for fire destruction and peril **1/2 out of 4 Stars, Movie Grade: C+

Running time: approx. 95 minutes

by Kevin Lang

Originally aired as a TV movie, I remember seeing a scene or two of "Superfire" when it was on. Unfortunately, I didn't get a chance to view the entire film, which turned out to be a relatively good-looking film, at least for a TV movie anyway. Sure, the special effects were noticeably not big budget, but I have to credit the filmmakers and say that they did a good job in making the fire scenes look believable. (There were clips from the bigger budget 1997 film "Dantes Peak" used to capture the massive fire.)

The movie starred D.B. Sweeney along with Chad Donella ("Taken" 2002) and Diane Farr (TV's "Roswell" 1999). Sweeney, who has starred in such films as "The Cutting Edge" (1992) and "Memphis Belle" (1990), was perhaps the most recognizable face among the cast. He played the starring role of James Merrick, a pilot who flies into dust the forest fires with the maroon substance that you see dropped from these planes. The story began with Merrick trying to cope with reassignment after missing a drop target and losing an entire crew of twelve men. Due to this unfortunate event, his new team showed immediate dislike for him, even his lead pilot, Sammy Kerns (Diane Farr), who flew a smaller guide plane that was used to help pinpoint the drop.

In a short time after he and new crewmember Rob Torreck (Chad Donella) had arrived, a fire was detected in the mountains. Eventually, the fire, which was actually two separate fires, spread quickly, and began to approach one another. The two fires met, creating the phenomenon known as a superfire, which can supposedly jump lakes and create its own weather-like conditions. I don't know if this is a true phenomenon, but it didn't matter. It worked in the film regardless.

The fire approached a small town and was heading toward Portland. It soon became a race against the inevitable to stop the rapidly progressing superfire. For a TV movie, this wasn't a bad film. It was more enjoyable than Howie Long's regrettable, "Firestorm" (1998). If you get a chance to view this film, keep an eye out for the "shake and bake" scene, where Rob Torreck and company covered themselves in a foil-like fire protectant material, letting the fire burn over them. It's hard to imagine anything that would be more frightening, let alone how anyone could even survive such an experience.

"Superfire" Review written January 2, 2003, CTF.

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