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
Larry Perkins	...	DeMarco (as Lee Broker)
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

Director Richard Franklin was no stranger to directing sequels to popular films; in 1983, he helmed Psycho 2, the well-received follow up to Alfred Hitchcock's legendary thriller.

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Goofs

(at around 3 mins) The glass window breaks before the hobo crashes into it.

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Quotes

Matt Neely: 10?
Leo McCarthy: Oh Jesus here we go, what did he tell you kid 5? Hunh? 2 and a half apiece or was your end just supposed to be your parole and car fare?
Matt Neely: You son of a bitch Silak.
Lt. Ray Silak, NYPD: Hold it, you were gonna get a full cut.
Matt Neely: Of what?
Lt. Ray Silak, NYPD: The 10 million.
Matt Neely: Bullshit. I was the one who got Becker to talk. If it wasn't for me, you and that bitch would be nowhere.
Leo McCarthy: You're absolutely right, you deserve an equal share or maybe 60/40. After all, you were the one who had to go back inside.

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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

Spoofed in The Venture Bros.: Spanakopita (2013)

User Reviews

Almost as good as the first.

F/X2 was actually a good sequel. But I think that's because it is very much like the first movie. And, F/X itself was a great movie because of the idea of a special effects artist trying to get himself out of a mess. Rollie Tyler (Bryan Brown) is now a toy inventor, having retired from the special effects business. His girlfriend's ex-husband, a cop named Mike, employ's Rollie's special effects expertise to set up a sting operation. But, something goes foul and the cop winds up dead. Like F/X 2, Rollie becomes once again involved with crooked cops and has to solve the whodunnit. And, part of what made the first movie great, too, was Brian Dennehy as detective Leo McCarthy, who Rollie Tyler calls on for help.

As far as the story goes, it involves a bigger scale of corruption in the law enforcement circle, but the movie is just as enjoyable. And, you still get to see Rollie Tyler using his special effects abilities, which I always thought was the best part of the first one. If you have seen the first F/X, it's probably very likely you'll like the second one. It's one of the few movies I have seen where I can say that the sequel was pretty good.