F/X2

1991 "The Deadly Art of Illusion"
5.9| 1h48m| PG-13| en| More Info
Released: 10 May 1991 Released
Producted By: Orion Pictures
Country: United States of America
Budget: 0
Revenue: 0
Official Website:
Info

F/X man Rollie Tyler is now a toymaker. Mike, the ex-husband of his girlfriend Kim, is a cop. He asks Rollie to help catch a killer. The operation goes well until some unknown man kills both the killer and Mike. Mike's boss, Silak says it was the killer who killed Mike but Rollie knows it wasn't. Obviously, Silak is involved with Mike's death, so he calls on Leo McCarthy, the cop from the last movie, who is now a P.I., for help and they discover it's not just Silak they have to worry about.

Genre

Action, Thriller

Watch Online

F/X2 (1991) is now streaming with subscription on Prime Video

Director

Richard Franklin

Production Companies

Orion Pictures

AD
AD

Watch Free for 30 Days

Stream on any device, 30-day free trial
Watch Now
F/X2 Videos and Images
View All
  • Top Credited Cast
  • |
  • Crew

F/X2 Audience Reviews

Salubfoto It's an amazing and heartbreaking story.
Invaderbank The film creates a perfect balance between action and depth of basic needs, in the midst of an infertile atmosphere.
Abbigail Bush what a terribly boring film. I'm sorry but this is absolutely not deserving of best picture and will be forgotten quickly. Entertaining and engaging cinema? No. Nothing performances with flat faces and mistaking silence for subtlety.
Dana An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.
preppy-3 Retired special effects man Rollie Tyler (Bryan Brown) agrees to help trap a killer for the NYPD. The killer is caught and shot dead but a policeman also is killed. The police believe the killer was the one who did it--but Rollie was watching it on a hidden camera and caught someone else doing it. It eventually leads to hired killers going after Rollie and his girlfriend...so Rollie asks old pal Leo McCarthy (Brian Dennehy) for help.Long delayed (5 YEARS!) sequel to "F/X" was basically ignored when it came out...but it's not bad. The story is a little needlessly convoluted but I was never bored. There are multiple twists and turns...especially at the end that caught me off guard. The action sequences are long, exciting and LOTS of fun (one with a clown was so out there it was almost surreal!). There is also some welcome humor that's actually funny (courtesy of Dennehy). However this movie has problems. The basic plot makes little sense--Brown would agree to help the cops again after what happened in the first picture? And, in a particularly stupid scene, Brown and Dennehy have a killer trapped under a truck...and drive away and let him go! Also there's a mean streak in here with some pretty bloody killings with sympathetic characters being killed and a kid and his mom being threatened at gunpoint. Still, if you ignore these lapses, this is a fun movie worth catching.
TBJCSKCNRRQTreviews This is another of the countless sequels where it is evident that those who made it simply did not "get" what made the movie special. The tactical use of FX is still there, to an extent, but they try so hard to outdo the original, and it just winds up as a series of gags, most of them seeming like far more effort than they're worth, which is a backwards version of the minimalistic and incredibly effective use in #1. They're not that creative or entertaining this time around. Tyler now works as a toy-maker, although the only example of his craft that we see is a man-size sorta-robotic clown-doll, with the words "I will be extremely convenient" written all over it. He is yet again asked to help with his skills, and after initially declining, and... nothing else happening, he says "why not"(literally), since otherwise, there'd be no flick(and boy, that would be a shame). Dennehy returns, and is good as he always is, and frankly, his answering machine is probably the funniest bit in this entire thing. The humor is about decent. This has a bigger, complex plot. The cinematography and editing are average. Action is pretty nicely done. This does have suspense, however, the entire thing is nowhere near as engaging or thrilling. The director has only done one other thing that I'd even heard of at all, Psycho II, and that single fact sums it up so perfectly(though that one was considerably worse), I almost don't want to add anything to it. All I'll say is the following: They are both completely unnecessary 2nd entries in a series that never demanded such, and the true fans of either franchise ought to realize that they are ultimately not up to the quality level. I think it says a lot that I re-watched both this and the first after several years, and while I was recognizing almost everything about the latter as I saw it, I had nearly forgotten the content of this one. The DVD holds a theatrical trailer, potentially spoiler-filled. I recommend this only to those who want something like what they got before, and don't mind settling, trading down. 6/10
Carson Trent Not even worth a talk.This comment is only meant as a warning to people who value their free time.The movie has a ridiculous script, with countless points where it's obvious that the course of action was decided on the set(for example the chase in the supermarket where Rollie seems not to know what he's doing, and why), and a whole series of ridiculous and unnecessary fx-tricks display(like the can-explosion in the supermarket), meant only to deceive the audience into not thinking about the numerous flaws(bad camera-work and even worse directing and pyrotechnics).Basically it's an attempt to sell the characters form the original(which is not a great, but a quite watchable movie) in the same packing, just like a remake, but without any story. A waste of Brian Brown's, Brian Dennehy's (both decent actors), but most of all a waste of our free time.
no-skyline Everyone has one or two films which they know in their heart of hearts isn't a great film, maybe not even an average one but for whatever reason it crawls inside your head and wont let go. You just can't help but love it and this is one of mine. The acting is OK, the story idea is kind of cool if a little un-believable, the bad guys are inept (why doesn't anyone just shoot the guy!) but none of it matters I love this film.Bryan Brown is excellent as the FX Man on the run and Brian Denehhey is up to his usual standards as good backup. It's a fun run from start to finish if you sit back and let it go this is a great way to pass 95mins. The FX tricks employed are clever and gosh darn it there's a happy ending maybe i'm just sentimental!! I hope more people see this film I highly recommend it, now i'm off to write a review of my other guilty pleasure the Secret of My Success.....8/10