F/X

Directed by Robert Mandel, F/X follows special-effects expert Rollie Tyler (Bryan Brown) as he’s hired by the Justice Department to help fake the death of a notorious mobster (Jerry Orbach’s Nicholas DeFranco) – with complications ensuing after it becomes clear that the job isn’t quite as simple or cut and dried as it initially seemed. (Brian Dennehy costars as the obsessive cop bent on bringing down DeFranco.) It’s a fairly irresistible premise that’s employed to predominantly engaging and entertaining effect by Mandel, as the filmmaker, working from a script by Robert T. Megginson and Gregory Fleeman, delivers a briskly-paced endeavor that boasts a handful of engrossing sequences, including a fantastic car chase in and around New York City’s side streets, and performances of a consistently captivating nature. (Brown is charismatic and commanding here, to be sure, and yet it’s increasingly clear that Dennehy’s tough-as-nails, scene-stealing turn remains an ongoing highlight within the proceedings.) And although the picture can’t quite justify its 109 minute running time (ie there are a few lamentable lulls throughout), F/X climaxes with an exciting (and unexpectedly) violent third act that’s capped off with a genuinely surprising (and satisfying) ending – which ultimately does cement the movie’s place as a better-than-average 1980s thriller.

*** out of ****