Review of Firefox (1982) by Harry W — 21 Nov 2013

Firefox is clearly a dated film and it reminds us of this with a sometimes rough visual quality, cheap editing and obvious CG effects during the explosion scenes.

And the visual representation of the fact that the titular Firefox is mentally controlled by its pilot isn't visually depicted all that strongly and so the concept of the plot seems like a half-assed execution. I mean you can't blame the filmmakers because this is an old film, but the concept can be easily forgotten and really doesn't.

Plus since we have no idea who Clint Eastwood is talking to, his "dialogue" becomes meaningless and it just seeks like a prolonged monologue to attempt to keep thing alive on screen. Although it is the kind of taking one does to keep themselves stimulated during a prolonged time period, it just isn't entertaining when put up on screen to be seen. Plus Clint Eastwood's performance is routine and it doesn't seem like he has any fear for the situation he is in, and his line delivery seems fairly basic. But then again he doesn't have that much of a script to work with either and does have to spend many moments pretending he has been affected by elements of being a POW without taking them seriously.

Lastly, Firefox doesn't take advantage of its musical score. When it uses it the musical score proves beneficial but otherwise Firefox is commonly bereft of any atmosphere even though it could have used one to intensify the drama of the fact that the story is entering soviet territory, but instead without use of music the scenes are lacking in intensity and slow with a feeling that they have become prolonged.

Really the concept of Firefox is initiated in a very basic manner and it could have used more action to intensify the buildup to its long flight.

That being said, with Firefox you have to appreciate the fact that it's an old film and one of the oldest to take on a mix of legitimate aviation and small science fiction and war elements without coming out as a cheesy puppet show, and it uses the Clint Eastwood name to helm it and ensure that it is a legitimate story.

The aviation sequences are very energetic and make use of some good quality visual effects, a specially considering the time of the film and the fact that a lot worse was available. The music is used well in these scenes and give it a beneficial theme of heroism.

Plus the cinematography is good quality and the sense of fun in the flight is there, and Firefox really emits a sense of nostalgia to the time when discovering this kind of technology was all new to the viewers, and as a kid I would have loved this movie. I know my dad did because he recommended it to me, so it was cool to see.

So although it's not Clint Eastwood's finest effort and is dated and slow, Firefox still holds the entertainment of being an original aviation story with some impressive visuals for its time. But it could have done more and moved faster.