MOVIE REVIEWS : A Burned-Out ‘Firehead’

“Firehead,” as inept and dismal a political thriller as you would never wish to watch, is making a quick stopover at selected theaters on its way to the video stores.

The gist of it is this: when a Russian defector (Brett Porter) with telekinetic powers starts blowing up weapons factories all over America in an anti-war gesture, an ambitious top government agent (Christopher Plummer) decides to exploit the rampage for his own evil purposes. Meanwhile, it’s up to a nice-guy government scientist (Chris Lemmon), albeit experimenting in biological warfare, to try to save the day.

None of this has an ounce of inspiration or credibility; the cast, which includes Martin Landau in a cameo, is however, conscientiously professional in the face of mounting ludicrousness.

‘FIREHEAD’

Chris Lemmon: Warren Hart

Christopher Plummer: Garland Vaughn

Brett Porter: Ivan Tigor

Martin Landau: Admiral Pendleton

A Pyramid release. Producer-director Peter Yuval. Executive producers David Winters, Marc Winters. Screenplay by Yuval, Jeff Mandel.

Running time: 1 hour, 54 minutes.

MPAA-rated R (for language).