Fx

I actually forgot how good the original F/X was until i watched it recentlyIt's a solid well made small budget film that's better then most action films as of lateProduction Companies: Orion Pictures and Dodi Fayed - Jack Wiener along with a Budget: $10,000,000and Director Robert Mandel you get F/XThe Cast is very good:Bryan Brown ( 'Rollie' Tyler) he's somewhat of a forgotten Australian actor he's extremely good in this role I could do without the scene with him in his tighty whities packing a major bulge though!Brian Dennehy (Lt. Leo McCarthy) Dennehy is awesome in this film he is such a great actorDiane Venora (Ellen Keith) I really liked her performance i wish they didn't kill her off in such a tragic wayCliff De Young (Martin Lipton) You have the dad from Disney's Flight of the Navigator being a very shady "bad" guyit's a bit off putting but, it's a slick performance until he up and disappears from the filmMason Adams (Col. Mason) Getting a tv legend in Mason Adams to do this flick is a shocking but, he's great in itJerry Orbach (Nicholas DeFranco) Orbach is much younger then his L&O days and he plays a despicable mobster it's fun seeing him as a bad guy for a changeJoe Grifasi (Mickey Leo's partner)Martha Gehman (Andy) Rollie's special effect partner she too is very good in this film until she also disappears out of nowhereTom Noonan (Varrick) Tom Noonan is a terrific actor but, this is one of his most strangest roles he barley talks and walks around like Frankenstein or The Tall Man from Phantasm he does look super menacing thoughThe plot on paper might sound a bit "thin" but, it's very engaging and funa special effects master (Rollie) gets contracted into doing a "fake" hit on a mob ratHe does it and things are not what they seemwhich leads to a bunch of dead bodies a corrupt police force and one honest cop (Leo McCarthy)Trying to piece together what's really going onThis is one of those films any/all 1980's action fans should see for there selfThe F/X effects still hold up extremely well the opening scene with the mob hit is impressive on a production valuenot sure if this scene was all in one take but, it looks really seamless with one guy on fire for at least 5-10 secondseverything is practical and organicThe climax with the assault on the mansion is a standout smart scenethe balloon gag alone will make you go back and view againThe music/score is also decentsomehow a small budget film like F/X got the rights to use The Heart of Rock & Roll by Huey Lewis and the Newsbut, Columbia ripped-off Want a New Drug for GhostbustersMy two biggest gripe with this film is the disappearance of both Martin Lipton and Andy by the final act the two are gone with no explanationBrown and Dennehy are only in one sceneIs this blu-ray worth getting???Without a doubt yes the PQ is really goodthe old MGM Catalog dvd was horrible it was like a VHS put onto a dvd discI'm sure the F/X Laserdisc had a much better PQ then the dvdthis is without a doubt the best you'll ever see F/Xmy only problem with the blu ray is the audioit's DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 but, it sounds very much mono had to crank my surround sound up to 40 to get the most of itAlmost all the sound comes from the center speaker (Which is why I'm sure it's Mono decoded in 2.0)KINO LORBER did throw in a few small extras (better then nothing i guess)extras include**Original Theatrical Trailers for F/X & F/X 2****Interview with Director Robert Mandel (This is a exclusive it's very interesting if you are a fan of the film i wish it was longer though! it's less then 15 minutes Not sure why they didn't get him to do a audio commentary but, this is better then nothing!**** vintage Making of F/X featurette (Not a fan of old featurette's but, this is super interesting it has some rough workprint footage in itIt's also the featurette Orion Pictures used to sell the distributions rights for the filmA great buried treasure from the era of excess 8.5/10

I saw it when it first came out, and have loved it since. It does seem a little low budget, however, they spent the money on cast, not effects. There are plenty of effects in this, to be sure. It is, after all, about a man who does special effects professionally, who is then hired by the DOJ to pretend to kill a witness to make him easier to protect. He pulls it off perfectly, and then finds himself wanted for murder. Did his stunt go wrong? Or is something else going on? On the run from the law, he has to uncover the truth, find out if he did actually kill the witness or not, and clear his name.It's a lot of fun, it showcases what some good special effects people can do on a limited budget and it does keep you guessing just what will happen next.The sequel is good, just not as good.As of this review, I am still waiting on the DVD to arrive so I can't comment on some of the other reviews complaining about the quality of the DVD. I've had a copy on VHS for some time. I'm hoping the quality of the DVD is better, but, if not, I still love the movie.

F/X this DVD is great! Specially if you saw the film back in 1986 (I was 8 years old and have to say this film brings back memories, good ones), and I bring this up, because if you did you can see the movie restored and in 2 screen formats (widescreen and standard version), that ads a whole new experience, and as The New Yorker said "an ingenious suspense film" and it rely is! I recommend this DVD specially if you are an old movie timer, and to all of you that haven't seen it, because if you are reading this I have a hunch that you don't know this great movie. PS: The DVD doesn't say that the movie has been restored, but it has, if you see first the original theatrical trailer (that comes like a bonus), you could see the original looks of the film, because when you play the movie...man, you are going to see something different!

Pretty clever little action/thriller. Bryan Brown and Brian Dennehy are both fantastic actors in their own right and they both seem to feel really at home in a fun movie like this. It definitely shows it's age a bit (movies from that era did tend to be a little hokey) but like other movies from that time, it's got a certain charm that modern movies tend to miss. Sure the premise is a little goofy, sure the idea of a special effects expert using special effects to assault a villainous compound is pretty laughable, but it's kinda cool . . . and ultimately that's why movies like this were made, because it's fun to see silly stuff that's kind of cool.

Great Movie Well worth watching!!