F/X (1986)

Great latter day film noir/ mystery flick has an arrogant special effects man Rollie Tyler (Bryan Brown) in NYC being hired by the FBI to fake the death of a mob informant. Things don't go according to anyone's plans.There's murder on the rain-soaked streets of Manhattan, trenchcoats, false moustaches, mistaken identities, a good looking sacrificial lamb (Diane Venora) , hard-headed stooge cops hilarious in their incompetency, and a great twist ending. Film also has a bit of a 'behind the scenes' feel to it, as we see some of the creation of the makeup and some of the effects.Screenplay leaves a bunch of open ends and unanswered questions, but that is part of its appeal, its mysteries are never solved. Yet, the film is very well written, with the screenwriters employing the theory of Checkhov's Gun many times throughout: the rain-soaked streets in the opening scene set up the later rainstorm, which was necessary to get Tyler in the doorway and undetected by the cops trying to kill him; Tyler's latex wrist makeup in an early scene is used to his great effect at the film's end; we are discretely shown Mason's earpiece several times early on, which also plays a role in the film's climax; DeFranco's pacemaker, and on and on. A great little obscure thriller, with a great fight between Tyler and gunman in the apartment one of the highlights. Another highlight is Tyler's burglar alarm.

Here is an eighties hit, of a great time. Man this 'story' has a lot! Two Brians, a Diane Venora, who is unconditionally into her roles, she really puts talent into her characters. Even when her 'Ellen', Rollie's friend was cut short. Rollie Tyler, is the man for special effects. He is smart and can set up the 'Set-up' with moderate to no trouble. Then comes the Wit-Sec Program people with a simple request. Put together a murder in a restaurant that would seem real. To get the Mob, off of this mobster in Wit-Sec's Back. Jerry Orbach, Nick DeFranco is the man who needs a 'Pardon' from his past. Rollie even after some thought thinks he can pull-it-off, so to speak. This is the beginning of Rollies troubles. I don't recall Orbach in a lot of tough or badguy roles, but I liked him as the wise-cracking 'wise guy'. Entering into the party mess, Leo (Dennehy) an aggressive New York cop, who doesn't like no for an answer and he doesn't like tricks. He is now on the case of the trick master. (Mason Adams) Col. Mason was quite an inter agency man. I had never seen Adams in a role like this and he creates more intrigue. His assistant and partner 'Lipton' (Cliff De Young) was a sort of trick inter agency man as well. Plays dumb really well, all the while watching everything and everyone, like a crocodile. The ending of this was a surprise as well for me and then as the closing scenes were being shown, they played the best song, I can't find it anywhere anymore. One of those superb 1980's films with a perfect wrap-up. Beautiful scenery and that 'tall' looking cinema scope effect at the movie's ending.I recommend to those who like action, mystery and the 80's too. This is a thrill of a great time for me. (****)

F/X is a fun film concerning a special effects expert who is hired by the CIA to supervise a sting operation concerning a slimy crime boss. Unfortunately for him he's being set up as the patsy in a plot by the law officials themselves.Good story in an entertaining thriller that doesn't take itself too seriously and throws in a lot of humorous situations to lighten the mood. Bryan Brown and Brian Dennehy are old pros who could sleepwalk through roles like these and their presence gives the film added value. Jerry Orbach is always fun to watch and he delivers in the bad guy role. The script is well written and original, the movie is fast paced and suspenseful and wickedly funny at times. It's not hard to recommend this film.

Given the glowing reviews for this movie, I am surprised at how much I disliked it. The movie has more than its share of glaring plot holes— some reviewers warn against examining all plot elements too closely. This is an indulgence I will (reluctantly) respect since the movie, in my opinion, has a much more serious and grating problem.What I found off-putting about the movie is that, except for Diane Venora's brief role as Bryan Brown's girlfriend, there is not a sympathetic character to be found anywhere. Brown's character—the heart of the story after all-- starts off a likable "everyman." but becomes increasingly less so as the story proceeds until he devolves into a cold-blooded killer, indifferent to the carnage he is creating around him—- not every federal agent has to die-- and corrupt, too. In the van chase scene, he is oblivious to the public menace he is causing in using his f/x tricks. (This could have been mitigated with a single line of dialog or a look of concern; but, never mind.) I wanted to like Martha Gehman's character as Brown's assistant, but she lost me with her gleeful "I wish I could have seen the look on his face" when she tricked the pursuing detective into thinking he had run over a woman. Finally, the transformation of Brian Dennehy's character into just another corrupt cop left me with a distinct sour taste at the end of the movie. After everything is said and done, for Brown and Dennehy it's all about the money. Even Schwarzenegger was never this cynical in his movies. The last thing that bothered me is that I always presumed movie special effects were to keep the actors safe. Since here they are used to kill, it seems like a betrayal of their purpose.On the positive side, I had no problems with the casting or acting. Maybe things improved in f/x 2. I can only hope.