Review of Firefox (1982) by Nick E — 03 Sep 2011

Cold War action-thriller (with a smattering of sci-fi) about a Vietnam fighter pilot veteran who is brought out of retirement and recruited to infiltrate the Soviet Union and steal a top secret, state of the art aircraft prototype.

It's a film of two halves: the first your classic espionage thriller with the pilot - Mitchell Gant, played by Clint Eastwood who also directs - meeting contacts, assuming various identities and trying to stay one step ahead of the KGB, the second a bizarre amalgamation of Top Gun and Star Wars.

Don't expect any Top Gun-style legit aerial stunt work though, it's all done via some rather dodgy SFX. What makes it so weird is the plane itself - a creation so advanced it can fly at six times the speed of sound (!), is invisible to radar and has thought-powered weapon systems (!!).

Seriously, if you want to fire a missile, you THINK it! Why it has to be so over the top I have no idea, it's completely unnecessary and contrasts so much with the down to earth opening acts that it's like watching a completely different film.

Still, it's entertaining stuff and the cast is great, so give it a go.