''Firehead'' is a 1991

science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel unive ...

– thriller

film A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...

. It was directed by Peter Yuval for

Action International Pictures Action International Pictures (AIP), also known as West Side Studios, is a film production and distribution company founded in 1986. AIP was founded by David Winters, David A. Prior and Peter Yuval. It also provided video distribution for many ...

, and stars

Chris Lemmon Christopher Boyd Lemmon (born June 22, 1954) is an American actor and author. Early life and education Lemmon was born in Los Angeles, California, the son of actress Cynthia Stone and actor Jack Lemmon. Lemmon attended the Verde Valley School ...

and

Christopher Plummer Arthur Christopher Orme Plummer (December 13, 1929 – February 5, 2021) was a Canadian actor. His career spanned seven decades, gaining him recognition for his performances in film, stage, and television. He received multiple accolades, inc ...

. It was filmed in

Mobile, Alabama Mobile ( , ) is a city and the county seat of Mobile County, Alabama, United States. The population within the city limits was 187,041 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, down from 195,111 at the 2010 United States census, 2010 cens ...

and released theatrically in 1991.

Plot

In 1988, a

telekinetic Psychokinesis (from grc, ψυχή, , soul and grc, κίνησις, , movement, label=ㅤ), or telekinesis (from grc, τηλε, , far off and grc, κίνησις, , movement, label=ㅤ), is a hypothetical psychic ability allowing a person ...

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

agent Agent may refer to: Espionage, investigation, and law *, spies or intelligence officers * Law of agency, laws involving a person authorized to act on behalf of another ** Agent of record, a person with a contractual agreement with an insuranc ...

known as "Firehead" (Brett Porter) defects to the west after refusing to use his powers against

Estonia Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, a ...

n protesters. Two years later, he begins blowing up American munitions factories for unknown reasons. An

NIH The National Institutes of Health, commonly referred to as NIH (with each letter pronounced individually), is the primary agency of the United States government responsible for biomedical and public health research. It was founded in the late ...

chemist (Chris Lemmon) and a government assassin (Gretchen Becker) are ordered to track him down. Meanwhile, a secret society led by Colonel Vaughn (Christopher Plummer) prepares to use Firehead's activities as a pretext for a

coup d'état A coup d'état (; French for 'stroke of state'), also known as a coup or overthrow, is a seizure and removal of a government and its powers. Typically, it is an illegal seizure of power by a political faction, politician, cult, rebel group, m ...

Reception

According to Kevin Thomas of the ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...

'', the film is "as inept and dismal a political thriller as you would never wish to watch", though he praised certain members of the cast, in particular the cameo appearance by

Martin Landau Martin James Landau (; June 20, 1928 – July 15, 2017) was an American actor, acting coach, producer, and editorial cartoonist. His career began in the 1950s, with early film appearances including a supporting role in Alfred Hitchcock's ''North ...

. In 2013, it was the subject of a

RiffTrax RiffTrax is an American company that produces scripted humorous commentary tracks which are synced to mostly public domain feature films, education shorts, and television episodes. With the talents of former ''Mystery Science Theater 3000'' (''M ...

commentary track featuring

Michael J. Nelson Michael John Nelson (born October 11, 1964) is an American comedian and writer, most known for his work on the television series ''Mystery Science Theater 3000'' (''MST3K''). Nelson was the head writer of the series for most of the show's origin ...

Bill Corbett William Daniel Corbett (born March 30, 1960) is an American writer and performer for television, film and theatre. He was a writer and performer on the cult television show ''Mystery Science Theater 3000'' (''MST3K''), for which he voiced the r ...

, and Kevin Murphy. The trio directed much of their mockery toward Chris Lemmon, who was compared unfavorably to his more famous father.

References

External links

* 1991 action thriller films 1991 films Action International Pictures films American political thriller films American science fiction action films Cold War films Films about telekinesis Films set in 1988 Films set in 1990 Films set in Estonia Films set in the United States Films shot in Mobile, Alabama 1990s science fiction action films 1990s English-language films 1990s American films {{1990s-sf-film-stub