MPAA Rating: R/Genre: Action Thriller/Stars: Bryan Brown, Brian Dennehy, Diane Venora, Cliff De Young, Mason Adams, Jerry Orbach, Joe Grifasi, Trey Wilson, Tom Noonan, Josie de Guzman, Roscoe Orman, Martha Gehman, Angela Bassett/Runtime: 108 minutes
It might be a weird way to start off a review, but there is a life lesson which I definitely feel I need to bestow upon all of you. That lesson being as follows: “if you are going to mess with somebody then I beg, if not downright passionately implore, you to never ever do so to someone who works in a significant capacity in the industry of movie magic”. Of course, is it any wonder why dear reader? I mean if you mess with a director then they could fire you or, dependent on the director, ensure you never work in films ever again. Along with that, if you mess with a script writer they could write a less than flattering story about you that, depending on how much they know about you, could transform into a film that might win awards yet reveal more about you to the public than perhaps you might be comfortable with. Oh and let’s not forget how, should you mess with the person in charge of the cinematography department, they could easily conjure up camera angles that are sure to result in you becoming a lifetime spokesperson for Tylenol due to how long you’ll be taking it in order to get rid of the headache they will be leaving you with respectively. Yet besides all of the aforementioned categories, there is one which is definitely important to take into account for the purposes of this review. That being the undeniably skilled group of individuals known as special effects artists. A group that, when operating at the pinnacle of their respective abilities, can (among other amazing things) utilize make-up and prosthetics to make what had only been up to that point imagined become an incredible reality. Yet what would happen if a special effects artist was recruited for a top-secret government assignment only to find themselves being set up? Indeed what tricks up their respective sleeves would they utilize in order to not only get to the bottom of things, but also prove their innocence and maybe get a little bit of payback in the process? Indeed, and in case you hadn’t figured it out yet dear reader, it is this key concept that is at the heart of a slice of cinema from 1986, and film I happen to be reviewing for you today incidentally, known as F/X. A film that, if I’m being honest, I not only have always had a fondness for since I stumbled upon it while sick from school one day a million and a half years ago, but which I feel is sadly more than just a wee bit on the underrated side. To be sure, it’s not flawless by any stretch, but with the aid of fairly solid work on both sides of the camera F/X is an engaging and just plain fun popcorn slice of cinema that is a genuine blast from start to finish and every thrilling minute in between.
The plot is as follows: F/X gets its puzzler of a story underway by taking us to a quite upper-crust dining establishment in the locale of Manhattan where a beautifully dressed woman is relaxing, enjoying some delicious food, and just making the most of her time with her dinner date. Or at least that was the case before another man decided to walk into the place with a submachine gun and proceed to kill several patrons including the woman and her date. Yet lest you are the kind of person who fears that either you are about to watch an incredibly disturbing snuff film, that someone accidentally dropped the film and due to the scratches on the back it just took you all the way to the end which was the only playable part, or some twisted combination of both I can assure you that is most definitely not the case here. A fact soon made apparent when, shortly after the woman goes down, we hear a loud voice yell the magic word of “CUT!” Indeed, and in case you hadn’t figured out until this point dear reader, we were only watching a bit of movie make-believe courtesy of an incredible cast, crew, and one Rollie Tyler. A man who, among other attributes worth knowing about him, is an undeniably skilled member of that distinct cinema community known as F/X (hence the title) or special effects artists. While working on the effects for this particular film however, we see that our intrepid hero is approached by an enigmatic gentleman calling himself Joe Leitner who says that he is a producer and would like Rollie to work on a film he is putting together. The next day at Rollie’s apartment/studio in SoHo however, we see the man drop the act and reveal himself to be not a producer, but in fact an operative working for the Justice Department named Lipton with an urgent assignment for our special effects maestro. Namely helping him conjure up a misdirection to suggest a man by the name of Nick DeFranco has been publicly murdered. It seems DeFranco is a member of the Mafia who is wanting to come clean to a grand jury about their operations and, due to being under Federal protection, the Feds would like it to appear that he was silenced so as to throw off any suspicion from his *ahem* “former colleagues”. Of course, while our hero profusely yet politely declines the offer at first, we see that it isn’t long before he decides to take on the assignment after all. Yet, it isn’t long until, in the immediate aftermath of the job being successfully completed, that we see our hero finding things become more than just a tad bit complicated when he himself is targeted for murder (and not in a fake way at that). Thus, and with a pair of dogged detectives from the NYPD looking into the case and becoming suspicious in their own right, can our hero utilize his distinct bag of tricks to uncover the truth? That I will let you discover for yourself….
Now right off, it should be said that the work done by the various units operating behind the camera on this particular cinematic outing, whilst by no stretch of the imagination flawless in any sense of the word, still is more than up to the job in making this as fun and engaging of a watch it ultimately turns out to be by the time the end credits begin to roll. Without question, this starts with the work done from the director’s chair by Robert Mandel (the pilot for The X-Files, 1992’s School Ties, and 1996’s The Substitute among others) and this is fairly solid work on display thanks to several key components. The first of those is that Mandel does a terrific job at really merging together several genres (in this case action, thriller, and crime respectively) within this particular film and not once does he slip and let any of the 3 really overwhelm or negate the others in any way. Instead, Mandel beautifully juggles all 3 in such a way that it really does feel like we are getting solid components from each of the 3 to make a wonderfully distinct product rather than one more than the others. Along with that, we see that Mandel is also successful at both giving us fairly decently constructed characters as well as consistently providing the film with a welcome degree of suspense. As a result, not only are we pretty much on the edge of our seats right from the word go, but we also really care about our heroes and hope that everything turns out ok for them by film’s end. Besides the undeniably skilled work done by Mandel, the film also benefits from a fairly well-written screenplay by Gregory Fleeman and Robert T. Megginson respectively. Yes, there are certain beats which will ring familiar to fans of the genre, but overall the screenplay here does a solid job at being fairly engrossing to say nothing of one that is sure to keep you guessing until the very end. Besides the previous 2 departments, this slice of cinema also contains some undeniably skilled work from Miroslav Ondříček (A League of Their Own, Awakenings, and Ragtime) in the cinematography department. Indeed not only do they use dim lighting to effectively conjure up a feeling of welcome uncertainty, but they also utilize some terrific camera techniques including tracking shots and quick cuts to ensure that you as a viewer are consistently engaged by what you are seeing unfurl before you on the screen. Last, but by no stretch of the imagination least, I feel like this section would be woefully lacking if I didn’t talk at some point about the contribution provided by Oscar-winner Bill Conti (the first 6 Rocky movies, The Right Stuff, and Broadcast News) in terms of this film’s musical accompaniment. Indeed, through its skilled utilization of orchestration, we see that Conti’s score here is able to reinforce the suspenseful atmosphere present in the film immensely well whilst also wonderfully constructing a degree of tension in its own right. Suffice it to say that when you also take into account highly skilled editing work from the iconic Terry Rawlings (Chariots of Fire, Alien, and Watership Down among others) and (big surprise) special effects work courtesy of John Stears (Star Wars Episode IV), it’s clear that the teams behind the camera are definitely trying to make this as engaging and entertaining of a film as possible. An effort that, by and large, they are quite successful in accomplishing.
Working beautifully in synch with the fairly solid work being done by the various departments operating behind the camera would have to be the performances given in front of the camera by the equally as skilled and talented cast of players even if some aren’t exactly given as much in the way of substantive material to work with as others. Without a doubt in my mind, this starts with Bryan Brown (Cocktail, Gorillas in the Mist) in the lead role and he is spot-on here. Indeed as Rollie Tyler, we see that Brown does a terrific job of giving us a character who is very much a decent and upstanding individual that seems like a good guy through and through. Yet when he is horrifically placed smackdab in the middle of this truly nightmarish situation, we see that Brown does a fantastic job of also providing the character with a terrific degree of both adaptability and resourcefulness with particular regard to his special effects expertise that make the various ways that he handles of the bad guys in this film an absolute blast and then some to watch unfold. Suffice it to say that it’s a delightful turn from a more than slightly underrated talent. That last sentiment incidentally could also be extended to the wonderful co-starring performance given here by the late yet iconic Brian Dennehy (First Blood, Presumed Innocent, Cocoon) in the role of Detective Leo McCarthy. Yes it might take a fair bit of the runtime before he pops up here, but once he does we see that Dennehy is an absolute delight as this more than slightly rumpled and unconventional yet undeniably dedicated and determined officer of the law who is willing to do whatever it takes to see that justice is done even if a few rules have to be bent along the way. Besides the work done by Brown and Dennehy, this slice of cinema also contains a delightfully hiss-worthy performance from Cliff DeYoung (Glory from 1989, 1997’s Suicide Kings, and The Craft from 1996 among others) in the role of Agent Martin Lipton. Indeed DeYoung does a wonderful job of giving us a character that starts out as this very slimy, deceptive, and cunning sort only to, as our hero continues to throw a wrench in the scheme he has helped cook up, become a panicky and more than slightly cowardly individual that you can’t wait to see get what’s coming to him especially in one scene that, without going into spoilers, will never make you look at a demolition derby the same way again. Lastly, I feel like this section would definitely be incomplete if I didn’t take some time to talk about the work done here in a small yet pivotal role by Jerry Orbach (Lumiere from Beauty and the Beast and Det. Lennie Briscoe on Law and Order). Yes his role is a bit on the underwritten side much like DeYoung’s and he might only have 20-30 minutes of screentime tops here, but even so there is no denying that Orbach does a good job at bringing a character to life that is a wonderful mix of both devious and merciless in equal measure. Suffice it to say that when you also incorporate efforts from such performers as Joe Grifasi who is a delight as Leo’s partner Mickey, Trey Wilson (Raising Arizona and Bull Durham), Tom Noonan, Josie de Guzman, Diane Verona (Heat and the 2000 take on Hamlet), Roscoe Orman (Gordon Robinson on Sesame Street), Mason Adams (Charlie Hume on the TV show Lou Grant), and even an early appearance from legendary actress Angela Basset among others it’s clear that this slice of cinema might have a few hiccups scattered about, but thankfully the work done by this talented group most assuredly does what it can to make up for those issues.
All in all and at the end of the day is F/X a practically perfect in every way slice of cinema? Sadly no though most assuredly that is by no means due to lack of effort on the part of this film’s cast or its crew. With that in mind however, is this the worst film on the creative resumes of any of the talented individuals involved in the making of it? Oh no. Trust me when I say that most assuredly is not the case though if you think so then Gods of Egypt from 2016, Knight of Cups from 2015, and 1995’s Carnosaur 2 would all very much like to have a word with you. To be sure, and all sarcasm aside dear reader, there is no denying that this film most definitely has its issues. Indeed not only are there more than a few moments where I am sure you will be able to predict just where the story is going to go to say nothing of the fact that there are moments where you will be a little confused as to the ultimate scheme at play in this slice of cinema’s narrative, but also because, for as good as the performances are, the sad fact is that the majority of the characters aren’t given nearly as much in terms of material to work with as a select few amongst the group. With that in mind however, there is also no denying that the work done in the director’s chair is fairly solid, the cinematography is top-flight, the score is genuinely taut and thrilling, the special effects work is (surprise surprise) absolutely enjoyable, and the performances by the impeccably chosen cast (with particular regard to the turns provided here by Brown and Dennehy) are all engaging despite the aforementioned lack of narrative substance given to most of them. Suffice it to say that if you are looking for a slice of cinema that is going to be the kind of movie that you hear announced as a winner at some point during the Oscars then sadly you might wish to look elsewhere. On the other hand, if you are looking for a fun and enjoyable popcorn film that is a genuine delight from start to finish then definitely give this film a shot. Sure you could definitely do better, but trust me when I say that you could also do a lot worse as well. Now if you’ll excuse me dear reader: my friend wants me to meet a special effects artist friend of his and, after seeing this film, I’m really hoping I make a good first impression. Make of that what thou will dear reader. On a scale of 1-5 I give F/X “86” a solid 3.5 out of 5.
