F/X2 (1991)

F/X man Rollie Tyler (Bryan Brown) is now a toy maker. Mike Brandon (Tom Mason), the ex-husband of Rolly's girlfriend Kim(Rachel Ticotin), is a cop. He asks Rollie to help catch a killer. ... See full summary »

Director:

Richard Franklin

Writers:

Robert T. Megginson (characters), Gregory Fleeman (characters)

Stars:

Bryan Brown, Brian Dennehy, Rachel Ticotin

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Bryan Brown	...	Rollie Tyler
Brian Dennehy	...	Leo McCarthy
Rachel Ticotin	...	Kim Brandon
Joanna Gleason	...	Liz Kennedy
Philip Bosco	...	Ray Silak
Kevin J. O'Connor	...	Matt Neely
Tom Mason	...	Mike Brandon
Dominic Zamprogna	...	Chris Brandon
Jossie DeGuzman	...	Velez
John Walsh	...	Rado
Peter Boretski	...	Becker
Lisa Fallon	...	Kylie
Lee Broker	...	DeMarco
Philip Akin	...	Det. McQuay
Tony De Santis	...	Det. Santoni (as Tony de Santis)

Storyline

F/X man Rollie Tyler (Bryan Brown) is now a toy maker. Mike Brandon (Tom Mason), the ex-husband of Rolly's girlfriend Kim(Rachel Ticotin), 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, Ray Silak (Philip Bosco) says it was the killer who killed Mike but Rollie knows it wasn't. Silak is involved with Mike's death, so he calls on Leo McCarthy (Brian Dennehy), 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.

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Plot Keywords:

smoke machine | australian man | special effects | phone booth | phone | 

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Taglines:

Outgunned by the mob, outmanned by the cops..... their effects had _better_ be special!

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Genres:

Action | Thriller

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Certificate:

PG-13

Details

Official Sites:

MGM

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

10 May 1991 (USA)

Also Known As:

FX2

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$16,400,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$5,455,058, 12 May 1991, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$21,082,165

Company Credits

Production Co:

Orion Pictures, Dodi Fayed - Jack Wiener

Technical Specs

Runtime:

108 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Bryan Brown, Brian Dennehy and Jossie DeGuzman are the only actors to reprise their roles from the original film.

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Goofs

(at around 18 mins) When Rollie is telling Mike about his hidden camera, while he's talking he's reflected in a mirror and his mouth clearly isn't moving.

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Quotes

Leo McCarthy: Rollie, tell me those aren't the real medallions.
Rollie Tyler: Yeah, I swithced 'em.
Leo McCarthy: Rollie you dumb bastard, the mob wasn't stealing them, they were returning them, to the Vatican.
Rollie Tyler: Nobody told me.

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Crazy Credits

Shot of helicopter flying and exclamations of non-pilot crook trying to keep it in the air.

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Alternate Versions

The scene in which Tyler converts an aerosol can into a "grenade" was cut by the New Zealand censors on the grounds that it might inspire real-life incidents of "copycat" behaviour.

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Connections

Featured in At the Movies: One Good Cop/FX2/Switch/Spartacus/Drowning by Numbers (1991)

User Reviews

Simple and plain sequel with splendid duo protagonist as Bryan Brown and Brian Dennehy

This agreeable follow-up packs intrigue , fast pace , action , suspense and lots of amusement . F/X was a great movie because of the idea of a special effects artist attempting to get himself out of a mess . This followup is also good but inferior to original . It deals with F/X man Rollie Tyler (Bryan Brown) as expert craftsman , nowadays he is a toymaker and settles a peaceful life . A Police agent , asks Rollie to help him to make a setup for chase a psycho-killer . As Rollie accepts because the cop is the ex-husband (Tom Mason ) of his new girlfriend (Rachel Ticotin) and he carries out the execution the phony work . The operation was going well when allegedly another murderer kills the cop . When corrupt agents double cross him on the staging the fake assassination Rollie finds himself embroiled in a deadly cover-up and he uses his special effects to trap the corrupt agents . Obviously a chief police is involved with the death , but when the things get worse Rollie calls on Leo MacCarthy (Brian Dennehy ) , confronting both of them a corrupt system . The whiz Rollie and Leo team up once more to use their special effects and advanced technology to find those responsible for the death of the cop . Rollie must use his movie magic and wits to discover the true guilty , survive and he becomes involved a mess that includes Mafia , Vatican and some golden medallions . As far as the story goes , it involves a bigger scale of corruption in the law enforcement circle .

Entertaining but ordinary 1990's-type action thriller that has some nice parts as is fast-paced , well acted , engaging and thrilling film . It has ex-Inspector Dennehy and FX wizard Brown in perfect form , developing an enjoyable relationship between the crime-busting buddies . Furthermore, good secondaries as Rachel Ticotin , Kevin J O'Connor , Joanna Gleason , Philip Bosco , all of them make fine performances . Some moments were predictable , but for the most part , it was finely-paced with action scenes efficiently handed and some good intrigue and mystery . There are some very exciting scenes as well as some ingenious special effects, including the final setup that resolves prominently the intrigue . The cinematography by Victor J. Kemper and editing are functional . Decent musical score fitting to action by Lalo Schifrin though excessive use of synthesizer . Action is pretty nicely done and fast moving with some engaging gimmickry provided by means of Animatronics and a telemetry suit , enabling the wearer to control a clown's movements via remote control that includes piloting a helicopter . The motion picture is professionally directed by Richard Franklin (Road games , Psycho II, Patrick). This is an acceptable if somewhat belated following to surprise hit realized in 1986 that was a Sleeper titled ¨FX , Murder by illusion¨ , the sequel ¨FX2¨ however, the entire thing is nowhere near as exciting and interesting . It's followed followed by an amiable TV series .