Quartile rating: 6/10 · 1 rating
A crew of rugged firefighters meet their match when attempting to rescue three rambunctious kids.
Playing with Fire is a formulaic family comedy that follows a predictable fish-out-of-water premise with tough guys softened by adorable kids. John Cena leads a serviceable but unremarkable cast going through well-worn comedic beats. The cinematography is competent but utterly generic for the genre. There is very little novelty here — the concept, execution, and story arc are all recycled from countless similar family comedies. The ending is feel-good but entirely telegraphed from the opening minutes. Solid middle-of-the-road entertainment for young audiences, but exceptional in no category.