Brian Dennehy

  • F/X2 (1991)

    ByChristian Sauvé Movie Review

    (Second viewing, On Cable TV, May 2022) Amusingly enough, I had much clearer memories of F/X2 than the first film, even though I last watched both sometime in the early 1990s. That doesn’t make sense – the second film is clearly inferior to the first, and even the set-pieces aren’t quite as good. Here’s to the unpredictability of human memory. One of those sequels that clearly tries to ape their predecessor, F/X2 picks up a few years later, as our protagonists are a bit older and still definitely richer from their previous adventures. Our protagonist (a still-likable Bryan Brown), now independently rich, is now a freelance toy/illusion designer, while his ex-police partner (Brian Dennehy, wisely reintroduced in the first few minutes rather than waiting out an entire act) has purchased a bar as a hangout. The inferior nature of this sequel can be felt from the opening sequence, a vast pile-up of contrivances that eschews logic and simplicity in order to show-off the renewed premise of the film (a practical special-effects designer fights a small conspiracy in order to clear his name) and get the plot going on a shaky foundation. We’re supposed to be too wowed by the FX tricks to care, but it doesn’t work that way: instead, we spend the sequel aghast at the leaps of logic, unimpressed by the contrivances and underwhelmed by some curious choices – such as bringing back a very sympathetic character only to kill her off. There are two upgrades here – a bigger budget (most clearly shown in the opening and closing segments) and the beautiful Rachel Ticotin as the female lead. Otherwise, F/X2 is notable for a few proto-Internet thrills (in showing a suspense sequence revolving around the successful transfer of an electronic file) and a plot that takes us from a stalker murder to bits of business reaching all the way to the Vatican. There are, clearly, some memorable moments here – including a clown puppet – but I wouldn’t trust my teenage self as an authority on this film: it’s not bad if you’re looking for more of the same material found in the first film, but that doesn’t make it much of a thriller on its own.

  • F/X (1986)

    ByChristian Sauvé Movie Review

    (Second viewing, On Cable TV, May 2022) I last saw F/X back in the… early 1990s? and didn’t recall much of it (the sequel, for some reason, was fresher in mind) but the premise was distinctive enough to stick: what if you had a rather standard thriller, but with a hero that was a practical movie special-effects wizard? With a central idea like that, it’s no surprise if you occasionally have to be indulgent while the film puts its set-pieces together: things are manipulated so that the hero gets the chance to demonstrate his skills rather than evolve naturally. But that’s cool, because part of the film’s pleasure in being fooled by a trick, then seeing how it was executed. Bryan Brown (not disguising his Australian accent) is quite good in the lead role, whereas Brian Dennehy sports a distracting moustache and comes into the film far too late. As far as contrived thrillers go, though, F/X is quite enjoyable. The protagonist shows sparks of intelligence in how he deals with the situation, even when the film anticipates Home Alone in a final act that has the protagonist fatally pranking the bad guys in their own house. The special effects material remains the most fascinating part of the film, but it still moves at a decent pace and still keeps our interest despite a mixture of familiar elements and outlandish gimmicks. The conclusion is not bad, with a spirited use of Imagination‘s “Just an Illusion” as envoi over a sweeping helicopter shot. Somehow, I don’t think CGI specialists are quite going to make as compelling a kind of hero in any future remakes.