It seems we're still at the point where any old gay-themed movie can get an endless string of 10/10 reviews, even if it's very ordinary or downright bad. Firebird is somewhere between ordinary and bad, depending on how critical you want to be. While it's apparently based on a true story, it plays awfully like a very standard, very cliched boy-meets-closet-case tale. Anyone who has seen more than a handful of gay movies has seen it all before. The leads are visually appealing, but not good enough actors to rise above the soap. And for the second half of the film Tom Prior (as Sergey) is saddled with one of the most obvious wigs you'll ever see in a film. It pulls focus so much it should probably have had its own separate character name. Sadly, it's not the only unintentionally hilarious thing in Firebird. There's some visual imagery involving jet fighters that will leave any seasoned film buff rolling their eyes. And Sergey becoming wide-eyed with awe and emotion at his first visit to the ballet is pretty funny, given that what's on display is comically garish and amateurish. Check it out if you must, but don't expect 10/10.
