En llamas

Perhaps the best thing about this film is that it will convince many people that it is really necessary to keep those 50 or even 100 meters without trees around the houses. And even then... the example given here of the ingenious care taken by the owner of that house literally going up in smoke was interesting: you're never safe from the recklessness of your neighbors.

The story of a family of 3+1 who survived a forest fire provides the pretext for a production in which we are placed inside the burning forest, in a terrifyingly realistic reconstruction of the scenario that someone in those circumstances has to face - with virtually no chance of survival. Great value is placed on unity, as each element of these three will contribute in its own way to an improbable outcome.

The production (pyrotechnics and everything else) is stupendous, the actors very convincing and the filming impeccable. But there are a few problems, namely the script, which is too formulaic and predictable, and with inconsistencies: there's the manslaughter of two old people, with no culpability and (almost) no remorse, and there's the final shock of seeing those trees, so green, on the shores of Lake Chilton...

The fire was done very well, and showed the real dangers of living in the woods and how fire can spread so fast. And with featuring the 911 staffing, showed how quickly things can change when fire spreads from strong winds. What seems couldn't happen becomes what does happen. The weakness is the script, as the actors do a good job showing their skill, their danger and the ability to think quickly. And the father Dave, risked everything for his family. Rated PG-13, it was watered down into too much of a formula driven script. But that is more the reality of what is necessary than the fault of the execution of the production. It needed to be acceptable for family viewing. It seems to be a lot of real fire, along with some CGI fire, but maintained the tension.

As a former Firefighter/EMT I found this film to be infuriating, especially because it was based on a true story! After fighting numerous wildfires in the backcountry, a firefighter's worst nightmare is dealing with unprepared citizens and an inept Incident Commander that endangered the lives of those employees & citizens who were properly trained.

If the details presented were accurate, the family portrayed should be chastised for their ignorance while residing in the obviously heavily wooded area! Using Google to research emergency procedures should have been a priority BEFORE A FIRE 🔥! Being insured, clearing defensive space & preparing a GO BAG are priorities! Preparation is everything.

Awful in every regard.

Acting: Atrocious.

Writing: Wow.

Do NOT waste your time with this. I don't want to write anything more about this because there's not much to say and it isn't worthy of any more of someone's time, but I'll continue typing in order to help save even one person from wasting another minute of their life thinking whether they should watch this or, God forbid, actually watching it.

I hated all of the characters and laughed at every terrible piece of dialogue and story that came along to the climax of this terrible film.

I beg you to please not waste your time with this.

There. Done.

Yet another movie that I had never heard about, "On Fire" from directors Peter Facinelli and Nick Lyon immediately caught my attention when I saw that cover. I am a sucker for natural disaster movies, despite the majority of the movies being questionable. But I had never heard, much less seen, "On Fire" before, so of course I opted to give the movie a chance.

The storyline is pretty straightforward, and I will say that it is a fair enough watchable movie, though hardly anything outstanding. So writers Nick Lyon and Ron Peer didn't really deliver something out of the ordinary here. And yeah, it was essentially also a very predictable and somewhat generic storyline actually. But hey, if you enjoy natural disaster movies, "On Fire" is definitely well-worth sitting down to watch.

There are a couple of familiar faces on the cast list, with the likes of Peter Facinelli (whom also co-directed the movie), Fiona Dourif, Glenn Morshower and of course the iconic Lance Henriksen. So I will say that the the cast ensemble in the movie was definitely good. The acting performances in the movie were good.

Visually then "On Fire" was good. The effects were fair and looked real enough, though I have to admit that I had a hard time buying into the characters ever were in any real danger. And that sort of took away from the overall impression of the movie.

Watchable for what it was, "On Fire" is hardly a movie that warrants a second viewing, as there isn't enough contents to the storyline for that. But it definitely is a movie worth sitting down to watch if you enjoy natural disaster movies.

Ultimately, then the movie's cover/poster over-sold the movie by a landslide. The cover/poster was way more interesting than the movie turned out to be. A sad fact, actually.

My rating of directors Peter Facinelli and Nick Lyon's 2023 movie "On Fire" lands on a five out of ten stars.