Wildfire 7 (2002 TV Movie) User Reviews

Let's get real

[claudecl · 6/10 · 9 January 2022]

Come on, now. Movies are intended to be theatrical endeavers that are intended to provide enjoyment and entertainment; not to be analyzed like some microbe in a petri dish. Let's analyze the previous review. First: If, as you say, the fire was beneath fire tower 13 the character of "Mother" would not be alive to recieve the citation. Second: Wildfire 7 was doing more than just patting a few leaves, they were attempting to create a firebreak to slow or stop the fire from advancing. Third: the tree bridge; yes the bridge was inches above the flames and yes lamb chops are cooked the same way; however, the lamb chops aren't moving. Lastly: the character of "Nell" was convicted of manslaughter, did six years in prison, fulfilled her parole obligations, did four years in the forestry service and was a contributing member of society.

Now for my review. I found this movie to be a fine film that keeps your interest and has a few good action scenes. The ending, however, I found a little disappointing. Did Nell and her in-laws come to some sort of arrangement regarding Sophie, why was the grandmother keeping all of Nell's letters, and what was uncle Nick's story?

Acting

[eaglesfan146 · 5/10 · 30 August 2021]

Very slow. Predictable.

I like tracey Gold but not in this kind of a part.

A woman is sent to jail, and works hard to become a firefighter. she then becomes the head of a group called "wildfire 7" in charge of rescuing people from forest fires.

[hater_of_lemons · 1/10 · 2 January 2006]

This was possibly one of the worst movies I've ever seen. The cinematography was just terrible. It looked like they took some footage from news stations covering real forest fires and put them in the movie, because they couldn't be bothered to make their own version of a forest fire. All the flames were too obviously computerized, and the plot was severely lacking. i mean, what are the odds that after 6 long years of not seeing her daughter, the kid ends up being one of the first people she has to save? And they didn't tie up loose ends. What about the grandmother hiding all those letters from the kid for 6 years? No one ever mentioned it. I think that this movie should not have been made, because the budget was obviously too low and the screenwriters were obviously inept and should find another job.

Wow! Frightfully bad movie.

[rlandi1 · 1/10 · 4 January 2003]

I'm not sure what the worst part of this movie was, the hack direction, the lame writing, the preposterous plot, the wooden acting, or all of the rest. They say if you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all. I can't say anything nice.

Ridiculous... Appalling... Hilarious... Wildfire 7.

[h_cubert · 1/10 · 26 November 2006]

I bought a copy of this on DVD in a video store in my hometown. The cover promised hilarity, and while the film is *murderously* slow for the first half (most of the hilarity coming only from the dialogue and the relationship between Nell and the 'Boss', who is a total hard-ass for the sole reason that the film needs one), things really pick up once the creepy Uncle Nick and the 8-bit, poorly-rendered hovering fires arrive. Films like these, when they hit their stride, are far funnier than any intentional comedy. Sadly, Wildfire 7 kind of wallows in mediocrity for the most part. The last half hour, though, is truly stunning.

A '6' in terms of it being laughably bad. A '1' if you pick this up expecting to see a half-decent movie (though really, why would you?).

awful, awful movie

[Harry-Solsamix · 1/10 · 15 July 2006]

the mother is the worst character of all time. she does not need binoculars to see the huge forest fire beneath her. I've watched this three times because it is so bad that it is good. it is funnier than most comedies. this movie is a total farce. when putting out a forest fire wildfire 7 should be advised that patting a few leaves seemingly miles from the fire is likely inneffective. making a tree bridge inches above roaring flames is a terrible technique to get round a forest fire. lamb chops are cooked in a similar way. why was a murderer (wrongly accused or not) thought suitable to lead a "crack" fire fighting squad? she must have lied on her CV. its really hard to make fire fighting look uncool, but this film exceeds at it.

Workmanlike TVM

[lorenellroy · 17 November 2004]

Tracey Gold plays a woman incarcerated for manslaughter -wrongly so -who while in prison volunteers for smoke jumper training and despite brushes with the hard -nosed trainer rises to become the leader of a smoke jumper team .This is sent into action to combat a conflagration in which her estranged 10 year old daughter is caught .Can she douse the fire ,hold together her squabbling team and rebuild her relationship with the daughter ? These are the key questions in the movie and they are resolved in the way you would expect .

Budgetary constraints lead to overly obvious use of stock footage which is at least consisitent with the stock characters as portrayed in the teleplay .The acting is consistent with the standard expected of the telemovie-in short competent but not striking -and if you can ignore the low budget and lack of any originality this is okay as a time passer

Nothing stands out

[Leofwine_draca · 3/10 · 20 October 2018]

WILDFIRE 7 is the usual kind of disaster-themed TV movie about a female convict who trains as a fire fighter before joining up with a group of men to fight a raging inferno. It plays out mundanely and exactly as you'd expect from the premise, with the bulk of the conflict coming from the usual sexism that the protagonist discovers coming from her new colleagues. It's a cheap and tawdry affair, indifferently acted, lacking any kind of special fiery FX sequences to make it stand out.

An Insult To Firefighters Everywhere

[defstryk · 1/10 · 21 June 2008]

I created an account here after viewing this travesty of a 'movie' on TV.

Wooden acting (if the heavy handed and stilted script can even be described as such) and numerous other faults compound to make this a disaster movie of epic proportions...except the fire isn't the disaster here. It's the movie itself.

First off the bat are the laughable characters. A convict who then leads a team of firefighters? What were the producers smoking when somebody came up with the script? Not only is the premise obscenely stupid (and an insult of firefighters), the actress who plays the character clearly cannot deliver a decent line without sounding like she's reading off a cue card. Her screen presence is laughable, and the scenes where she tries to order people around are especially cringe-worthy...I've heard nails been dragged across a chalkboard that was more pleasing to the ears. Oh wait...ALL her lines sound like that. How does somebody without a smidgen of acting ability and a voice like a hyena(a hyena with a very bad sore throat) get into movies? Are they casting off the streets now?Also, how the hell would one believe she's the leader of a group of firefighters with a body like that? How's does she propose to put out a fire with her flabby physique? Rolling over them and hoping her monstrous bulk snuffs them out?

Of course, that's the just beginning of how lame this movie is. Laughable special effects(fire that look as realistic as cardboard cutouts) make even movies don't in the 70s and 80s look cutting edge. Seriously, watch Clash of the Titans or Seven Voyages of Sinbad and then tell me that the SFX from those oldies don't outshine the insultingly bad ones found here.

Then there's the overuse of stock footage. More than half the time, it feels like you're watching a news program or documentary. Hell, I wished that was the case...at least you might learn something from them. The only thing you'll learn from this fiasco is to avoid it at all costs.

If you don't have the budget to make a movie, don't. This is a prime reason why not.

Darned good Movie

[dgpeters475 · 5 February 2004]

I have watched the movie and I totally disagree with the previous listings, I thought that Tracy Gold and the rest of the crew on the movie did a great job. I would definitely recommend it to anyone. I personally give it a Ebert and Roper 2 thumbs up.