F/X
Interesting thing about watching F/X, I could have sworn that I’ve seen this movie one hundred times but as I’m watching I know I seen it once because the opening sequence rings a bell.
I know what happen, F/X 2 is the film I’ve seen a million times and all this time I was giving F/X high numbers by association. F/X was a strange film in the sense that I remember its heavy promo on TV back in the day, and I kept thinking to myself F/X2? Is there an F/X one? With the latter question unanswered it made the trailer for F/X 2 feel like a semi-trailer made by film geeks before movie geekdom to parody a certain type of movie. What that movie is I do not know.
F/X itself is a unique action film about a special effects artist (played by Bryan Brown who I know nothing of) hired to stage a mob hit for the witness protection program only to be set up and force to clear his name. Brian Dennehy plays that New York cop who happens to catch the case (Man! Dennehy is a huge man).
F/X could be worked as two movies rapped in one as the two Bryans (or Bryan and Brian snice they spell it differently) seem to be up against the same Antagonist but never fully work together to come to the same end of the road. Bryan Brown’s Rollie Tyler is an Australian born F/X artist running for his life from the state department when he becomes the last witness in a mafia coverup paid for by a dude played by Jerry Orbach (A cool role for Jerry. He did not spend his career playing an ass hole but he’s at his worse and villainous here, downright unlikeable and it was entertaining as hell.
F/X is a well-played film, mostly dramatic but had some great action in it. Particularly there was a scene that feels like Home Alone ripped it off and perfected it. With that said, I would say I was expecting more special effects in the film (about a guy who does special effects and all), in reality I possibly got just the right amount but still…
Well, no need to let that spoil anything. F/X is a movie worth catching, maybe not a hundred times but at least once.
