“You shouldn’t believe everything you see!”

Justin’s rating: Kids today are going to be very confused watching a movie about a clown  named “Bluey” who’s controlled by a guy with an Aussie accent

Justin’s review: Every so often, there’s a movie that creates for itself a legacy not based on its content but based on its name alone. Get a name that tickles people when they say it, and they’ll be repeating and riffing on that for a long time to come. Anyone here watch Breakin’ 2: Electric Boogaloo? Probably not, but we all love the name. And so it kind of went for F/X 2: The Deadly Art of Illusion. It’s a title that’s just that right level of awkward that made it memorable.

Me? I went the extra mile and actually watched it.

This is, of course, the sequel to the 1986 film starring an Australian special effects guru who used his magic tricks — sorry, his DEADLY ART OF ILLUSIONS — to foil a crime caper. The whole hook of this duology is seeing how he can use his knowledge of F/X to fool, assault, or trap the bad guys. It’s quirky but not the worst idea I’ve ever heard. F/X is kind of a cool subset of the Hollywood machine that doesn’t get talked about a lot, especially back when everything was done with practical effects.

Bryan Brown is back as Rollie, a special effects genius who consults with the NYPD (and Brian Dennehy in particular). This also stars Rachel Ticotin as Kim, Rollie’s girlfriend. Ticotin had a banger of a decade in the ’90s, with significant roles in Total Recall, Con Air, and Falling Down.

Rollie is a family man now, creating toys with his inventive know-how including a robotic clown controlled by a telemetry suit. Which is named “Bluey” and you can shut down those copyright claims right now. I hope you’re cool with seeing a giant lifeless clown going on a lot of adventures, because F/X 2 is heavily invested in this thing. Rollie even uses it to practically kill a guy at one point, so there’s your price of admission covered.

Against his will, Rollie gets drawn into a complex conspiracy involving the mob, a murder, bad cops, the Vatican, and some very special gold coins. But this is simply an excuse to have Rollie get creative with his gadgets. Watching these movies reminds me a lot of the appeal of MacGuyver back in the day, as we’d wait for the next time he’d wield science in an unusual way.

There are a few solid money special effects sequences, including the opening with a fake movie set and a supermarket chase where Rollie completely Home Alones a bad guy with all sorts of traps.

Rollie also gets to reunite with Leo (Dennehy), who’s now a private investigator willing to beat the streets for his old friend. They spend a chunk of the film hanging out at Leo’s now-defunct bar, which is kind of the ultimate man cave. This is about the most likable role I’ve ever seen Dennehy play. I am here for it. He and Brown have some good chemistry, and they feel like equals as they approach this case together.

Despite coming out in 1991, F/X 2 feels like an ’80s movie in a lot of respects. Just grab a light crime plot, slather on a ton of saxophone and electric piano, and have an Australian laconically handle a bunch of bad guys in his own idiom. It’s a decent thriller with some kooky twists and across-the-board improvements over the original. Silly title? Sure, but don’t let that stop you from exploring the film underneath it. It’s good enough that I do wish we had gotten a third entry in this series.

Intermission!

• “I don’t do windows!” [proceeds to toss a guy through a window]
• “Go back to the future you unhuman mutant from hell!”
• Late for a party? Let’s mess around with a remote controlled clown!
• Their apartment is like 70% frosted glass cubes
• I didn’t need to see the fake breasts
• “And Mikey, he’s got a blaaaaade.”
• Remember those Trans Sport vans? This film really does.
• This movie LOVES to zoom and enhance
• CLOWN VS BAD GUY
• Leo’s beat up car is awesome, as is his bar
• The monster from the first movie comes back in the most hilarious of ways
• “They don’t have a computer here.” So go to the mall to use a computer with a modem. What a different era this was!
• Being chased in a store? That’s a great time to make popcorn!
• BAKED BEANS BOMB
• The vacuum seal is a neat bit
• I want a hot dog-lobbing machine too!
• That’s an adorable little pistol
• I didn’t see that twist coming
• “He’s messy, but he’s fun at parties.”
• There was a sort-of sequel to this in the late’90s TV series F/X that lasted for two seasons from 1996 to 1998 and occasionally guest starred Carrie-Anne Moss.