Fire with Fire (2012 film)

Plot

Following a grueling day of work, firefighter Jeremy Thomas Coleman and his co-workers contemplate ending the day with a case of 35-year-old Scotch. When Jeremy enters a convenience store to buy snacks, he witnesses the clerk and his son being brutally murdered at the hands of Hagan, an Aryan Brotherhood crime boss. After Jeremy narrowly escapes with his life, police detective Mike Cella, whose old partner was murdered by Hagan while they pursued him in a different case, sees an opportunity to bring justice. Hagan is arrested and Jeremy identifies him in a line up; however, Hagan demonstrates that he knows full well that Jeremy is behind the two-way mirror by reciting Jeremy's full name, address and social security number.

Prior to the trial, Jeremy is forced to change his last name to Douglas and surrender his entire career as he is placed into the witness protection program. Although Jeremy finds it difficult to cope with the loss of his career, he finds consolation in his budding romance with Talia Durham, a Deputy United States Marshal assigned to his case. Later, Hagan's attorney arranges for him to be released from prison in the weeks leading up to the trial. As a result, Jeremy and Talia find their lives in jeopardy. Talia is wounded by one of Hagan's hit men, and Hagan calls Jeremy, threatening to kill everyone he loves whether he testifies or not. Jeremy vows to kill Hagan first and abandons the witness protection program.

Jeremy travels home to Long Beach, California, where he seeks out an Eastside Crips leader to exact revenge. The Crips decline to help but give him a gun. Jeremy stakes out one of Hagan's hiding places and kills three of his men while in pursuit of Hagan. However, he leaves behind forensic evidence that can not be traced back to him due to his WITSEC status. The evidence, though, leads detective Cella to believe Jeremy is behind the killings. Jeremy grows bolder in his actions, torturing one of Hagan's men and confronting Hagan's attorney to find out where Hagan will be one night.

Talia arrives at Long Beach and tries to convince Jeremy to abandon his plan. Jeremy locks Talia in the bathroom and gets away, but Hagan's hit man arrives soon after and kidnaps Talia. That night, Jeremy, using his firefighting knowledge, sets ablaze the building where Hagan and his men are meeting. When Jeremy realizes Talia is also in the building, he puts on his fireman's suit and enters the building to rescue her. Jeremy runs into Hagan inside the burning building and, after a struggle, Talia kills Hagan. Jeremy leaves the building with Talia. At the wrap, detective Cella, while conversing with the DA, states that no evidence was left behind at the burnt building to charge anyone with the deaths of Hagan and his men. Cella is seen putting away a photo of him and his old partner.

Cast

Release

Fire with Fire was released direct-to-video in the United States on November 6, 2012. It made $2,371,816 in domestic sales on home video.

Reception

Rotten Tomatoes, a review aggregator, reports that 7% of 14 surveyed critics gave the film a positive review; the average rating was 3.3/10. Mark Adams of Screen Daily wrote that it is a misfire with a story that is "more silly than exciting". Tom Huddleston of Time Out London rated it 3/5 stars and called it "a sturdy, unambitious but thoroughly watchable action thriller." Nathan Rabin of The A.V. Club wrote that it "could be a lot worse" and "is cheesy but moderately effective." Paul Bradshaw of Total Film rated it 3/5 stars and called it a "daft, generic revenger". Olly Richards of Empire rated it 1/5 stars and wrote, "Avoid like the plague. The nasty Bubonic kind." Henry Barnes of The Guardian rated it 1/5 stars and called it too violent and cliched. Tyler Foster of DVD Talk rated it 3.5/5 stars and said that it gives its demographic exactly what they want but no more. Gordon Sullivan of DVD Verdict called it a cliched, mediocre B movie.