Catch fire is the one thing this shambling thriller doesn't do - although star Dennis Hopper (who took his name off the finished film as director) might have wished the film stock would spontaneously combust before anyone saw it. The cast is a dream, but the script, about a hitman (Hopper) falling for his intended female target (Jodie Foster), that's a bit of a nightmare. Of that all-star cast, Joe Pesci isn't billed at all, Charlie Sheen only survives a couple of scenes before meeting an swift demise and there must have been originally more to Vincent Price's Mafia don's role than one line! Hopper's original cut of the film ran close to three hours - hence the battles and pseudonymous director credit to `Alan Smithee' - and that may have made more sense. As it stands here, Catchfire is nothing more than a curio because of the stature of its A-list cast.


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