Thursday, November 7, 2013

FIREFOX (1982)

Vietnam vet Clint Eastwood is haunted by crippling war flashbacks.  Even all alone on his quiet, private land up in Alaska he still has flashbacks.  So when the government asks if he'd be willing to risk his life sneaking onto a top secret military base in Russia, stealing their most advanced stealth fighter and then flying it out of Russia he understandably says "No."  But he's the best goddamn it! The best!!!  So the next thing you know Eastwood is in Russia under a fake identity as a businessman.  Cloak and dagger shit happens and then he steals the airplane.

Personally, I liked the cloak and dagger second act of the film better than the supposedly exciting airplane stuff in the final act.  Mainly because if it's done right, the sneaking around with the enemy agents hot on your tail stuff never gets old, whereas the special effects in the airplane sequences were seriously dated.  Enjoyable film, especially for Eastwood fans, but the story was too straightforward for my tastes.  A few surprises, more suspense, grittier action...all of these things would have been welcome.  Middle-of-the-road recommendation.