j* movie reviews 2020

Playing with Fire (2019)

Wrongly categorised as a "film" this still has skits to entertain.

A movie, technically, should have a great big overarching plot that helps to drag the viewer from A to B. I mean maybe it's old fashioned to expect that these days? This film though, is well liberated from those expectations. I mean sure, there is a nice theme: kids need help and tough guys help them. But the plot is less cohesive and more a whole range of skits that have been stuck together on post-it notes.

This is 100% a John Cena vehicle. If you want to see John Cena playing the straight tough guy under siege from children, then this probably has what you need. The other firemen are pretty solid too, in a comedy way. There is probably not enough fireman action to really satisfy the Mums (or Dads that way inclined).

The big thing is that this film just jumps around like a frog on speed. It racks and stacks about a gazillion skits that mostly are funny. There's a toddler age kid who steals every scene she's in. There's a big chunker of a dog who is gorgeous. There's a side character who's an ecologist studying toads. There's a smokejumper (they're a special kind of fireman) who just carries his axe and plays Silent Bob to some of the more Jay-like action. And there is some legit action, funny action. But then they just rush off to the next skit.

I didn't hate it. What surfaced as a major plotline became rather predictable. Everything else was just crayballs... "and now they're doing... that!"

J* gives it 3 stars because she's feeling generous.