F/X 2 Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		1.5
Overall		3.5

F/X 2 Blu-ray Movie Review

Send in the Clown

Reviewed by Michael Reuben December 7, 2015

The surprise success of 1986's F/X made a sequel almost inevitable, but F/X 2 (sometimes subtitled "The Deadly Art of Illusion") wasn't nearly as well received, probably because the premise was no longer new. Screenwriter Bill Condon, the future director of Dreamgirls and Mr. Holmes (among others), invented a suitably gimmicky scenario to reunite special effects man Rollie Tyler and ex-cop Leo McCarthy in another caper involving deception and murder. Condon was also clever enough to echo familiar beats from the first film, but with enough variation to supply something new. As a direct homage, a scene from F/X appears at one point on a TV in the background, although it could also be taken as a scene from the film on which Rollie was working at the time (his last, as things turned out).

Directing duties fell to Australian helmer Richard Franklin, who had previously distinguished himself with Psycho II (still the best of the sequels) and the underrated Cloak and Dagger. Franklin shared Condon's playful approach to the story, which was an essential element in the first film's success, and he was able to give more time to the relationship between the two main characters, who weren't united onscreen in the first film until the very end. He also didn't labor under the budgetary constraints initially imposed on director Robert Mandel until the producers of F/X saw the early rushes. The sequel has several major action sequences that are integral to the story and were obviously planned in advance.

Like the first F/X, the sequel opens with an elaborate effects sequence from a film-in-progress, but the work isn't Rollie Tyler's (Bryan Brown). Fulfilling the prediction of ex-cop Leo McCarthy (Brian Dennehy) as the two parted company in Switzerland, Rollie has left the movie industry and now devotes his creative energy to designing elaborate toys, including a remote-controlled clown he christens "Bluey". Once again, Rollie is persuaded to assist law enforcement with his skill at illusion and trickery, only this time it's the NYPD instead of the Justice Department. You'd think that Rollie's previous experience would have taught him to avoid such work, but Condon's script invents a good reason why he's lured back. The cop who requests his help, Mike Brandon (Tom Mason), is the ex-husband of Rollie's current girlfriend, Kim (Rachel Ticotin), whose son, Chris (Dominic Zamprogna), admires both Rollie and his policeman father. As Rollie imagines how Chris will react to his failure to help, his better judgment melts away.

Naturally something goes wrong with the operation, and someone gets killed, but at least this time Rollie isn't blamed, at least not by the commanding officer, Lt. Ray Silak (Philip Bosco). Someone else has it in for Rollie, though: a cold-eyed killer named Rado (John Walsh), who threatens not only Rollie, but also Kim and young Chris. Not sure whom to trust, Rollie calls the one person from his past whose interests he knows are perfectly aligned with his, namely Leo. Leo, in turn, turns to his old source in the police department, computer whiz Marisa Velez (Josie de Guzman, the only other returning character from the first film), as well as Liz Kennedy (Joanna Gleason), an assistant D.A. with whom Leo used to work and, occasionally, play.

Gradually, this band of loosely affiliated outsiders uncovers a knotty conspiracy involving . . . well, that's one of the big differences from the original F/X. In the first film, everything revolved around the fake assassination that Rollie was hired to stage. Here, the job he's asked to do is just an excuse. The real crime is unrelated and, by the time it is revealed, random. It could literally be anything, although what Condon's script provides does have a certain flair. The important thing is that Rollie has a chance to storm another isolated stronghold with a bunch of clever tricks that are entertaining but so unlikely in the real world that even Ethan Hunt's I.M.F. would reject them as too risky. But when you're Rollie Tyler, every effect always works perfectly.

F/X 2 was criticized at the time of release by people in the industry for revealing tricks of the trade; others felt that too many of Rollie's MacGyver-like weapons, particularly during a tense standoff in a supermarket, were dangerous techniques to be teaching the general public. Such was life before DVD and the internet, when sharing secrets behind big-screen magic (and other, more dangerous techniques) have become standard practice. Today those sequences are some of the best in the film: tautly directed, sharply edited and frequently just as funny as they are violent. (How often do you see baked beans used as a weapon?) For all its stretching of credibility and occasionally bizarre turns, F/X 2 holds up as a worthy successor to the original film, with Brown and Dennehy supplying a unique chemistry they never had chance to develop the first time around that keeps everything from getting too serious. Wait for the closing shot after the credits; it's a wink to the audience, reminding us that the whole affair should be taken with tongue firmly planted in cheek.

F/X 2 Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Shot on film by accomplished cinematographer Victor J. Kemper (Dog Day Afternoon), F/X 2 has been transferred to hi-def video by MGM and released on this 1080p, AVC-encoded Blu-ray by Kino. With just a few minor blemishes, the source material is in very good shape, and the transfer is a fine representation of Kemper's photography, featuring good detail, decent sharpness and an overall realistic palette that allows specific colors to pop at the right moments (e.g., Bluey the Clown's reddish-orange hair and certain fluorescent hues in the film's opening sequence). No apparent signs of digital sharpening or high-frequency filtering were in evidence. Kino has mastered F/X 2 on a BD-25 with an average bitrate of 23.94 Mbps, and the available bits appear to have been appropriately allocated between the demanding action sequences (including one spectacular fight obviously designed to rival the one in F/X ) and the quieter portions.

F/X 2 Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

F/X 2 was released in Dolby Surround and arrives on Blu-ray in lossless DTS-HD MA 2.0, which should be played back through a surround decoder to obtain the full effect of several sequences with rear-channel effects, notably the opening and the lengthy third-act deployment of Rollie's expertise. Environmental ambiance can be heard in such diverse locations as an apartment house, a prison hospital, a courtroom, a mansion by Long Island Sound and the cockpit of a helicopter. The dialogue is always clear. The lively score by Lalo Schifrin (whose extensive credits include the Rush Hour movies) contributes to the comic atmosphere.

F/X 2 Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Making-of Featurette (480i; 1.78:1 6:31): This vintage EPK includes interviews with both Brown and Dennehy, as well as director Franklin and effects man Eric Allard. Spoilers abound. (Note that the image was originally framed for 1.33:1 and has been stretched on the disc.)



• FX Trailer (1080p; 1.33:1; 2:35).



• FX 2 Trailer (1080p; 1.78:1; 1:51).

F/X 2 Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

As a buddy action film, F/X 2 has aged surprisingly well. It helps that the two leads are both appealing and that Condon's script offers a few new spins on the original material. Special effects have changed so dramatically since the time of the two F/X films that it's much easier now to overlook their improbabilities. Yesterday's improbability is tomorrow's cliche. Kino's Blu-ray presentation is solid and recommended.