A forgettable family comedy with a plot that could have been written on a post-it – firefighter John Cena and his fellow ‘smoke jumpers’ (they helicopter into remote areas to fight fires) rescue a family of kids from a house in the path of a blaze and then have to babysit them back at the fire house until the kids’ parents arrive.
It’s pretty predictable and inoffensive (if you don’t mind the scenes of former wrestler Cena without his shirt), clearly going for the aren’t-muscular-men-babysitting-kids-hilarious corner of the market that has been tapped into with films like Daddy’s Home and Kindergarten Cop.
Unfortunately, Cena can’t deliver a witty line so most of the humour falls flat and all the physical comedy has been done before, and better.
Missable stuff, for die hard Cena fans only.
Is Playing With Fire suitable for kids? Here are our parents’ notes...
The firefighters are occasionally in peril but there is nothing that should frighten viewers.
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