Season 19, Episode 4
I know I saw this movie. When we chose this as a movie for Season 19, I remembered the scene with the robot clown that Bryan Brown controls. He uses it at the end of the movie to stop the bad guy. Only that happened in the sequel, F/X 2!
So did I see F/X? I'm pretty sure I did. When I rewatched it for our recording, scenes and dialogue were familiar, but much like the laundry list of movies I've seen that run through my head, I simply forgot more of this film than I remembered.
F/X is one of those movies that fits the Forgotten Cinema model of why we created the podcast. This is a movie that has similarities to other 80s action/thriller films with minor tweaks, mainly being the lead actor is from Australia, and not exactly a household name for the casual moviegoer. Of course, those who are cinephiles, know Bryan Brown's work in Cocktail, Gorillas in the Mist, and more recently, Anyone But You.
The counter to that is the star power of Mel Gibson, a fellow Aussie, who is clearly a massive Hollywood star at this point. But Brown keeps his accent in this movie and he's not doing much action in this action/thriller. Also, the thriller aspect of the film is good, not great. These, and many more variables, add up to a film that gets lost in time. (Brian Dennehy being his most Brian Dennhy-est, Jerry Orbach before his Dirty Dancing fame, etc.)
But F/X is always a high recommend in my books. And also, what do I know! The movie got a sequel and I still need to rewatch it!
F/X
Directed by Robert Mandel
Written by Robert T. Megginson and Gregory Fleeman
Starring Bryan Brown, Brian Dennehy, Diane Venora, Jerry Orbach
Check out what we had to say on the episode!
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