Directed by: Robert Mandel
Starring: Bryan Brown, Brian Dennehy, Mason Adams, Cliff DeYoung, Diane Venora, Tom Noonan, Joe Grifasi, Martha Gehman, Josie de Guzman, Jerry Orbach
Movie special effects wizard Rollie Tyler (Brown) is approached by the Department of Justice to use his skills to fake the assassination of mob boss Nick DeFranco (Orbach), who is set to testify in a mob trial and enter the Witness Protection Program. Rollie is paid $30,000 to orchestrate the "murder", including disguising himself and "pulling the trigger" in a public place. Following the phony assassination, agent Lipton (DeYoung) tries to kill Rollie, citing "no loose ends" and Rollie is soon on the run and being framed for murder.
The detective on the case, Leo McCarthey (Dennehy) knows DeFranco and smells a rat, especially when Rollie's girlfriend (Venora) and the agent who killed her and tried to kill Rollie are found dead in the woman's apartment. F/X takes on Hitchcockian proportions, as Rollie is the innocent man accused and must rely on his visual effects prowess to fight his way out of this conspiracy. He isn't an action-hero type, but he's smart and resourceful with numerous tricks up his sleeve. I grant you that Rollie somehow is able to summon an effect up at a moment's notice, especially when he invades the ringleader Col. Mason's (Adams) home and does in all of his goons.
Some of these tricks are elaborate and are unlikely to fit inside a bag, but because we root for Rollie and he's played so winningly by Bryan Brown, we forgive the movie's occasional lapse in credulity. Brian Dennehy provides a counterpoint to the otherwise amiable Rollie. He's a heavy drinker, but relentlessly pursues the truth, and has some nice scenes displaying his absolute cynicism. F/X is a movie that comes out of nowhere to entertain, even in the face of plot holes and questions. No matter. We get to see the bad guys get what's coming to them from someone whom everyone underestimated.
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