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Firefox [1982]
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Clint is paired with the MiG
Review date: 2007-12-18 Rating: 8 out of 10
As Mitchell Gant, Clint helps the US smuggle a super-secret Russian fighter craft out of its hangar deep in the heart of Russia and fly it over to our side. Of course, it's not as easy as it sounds, what with Gant having recurring flashbacks to a harrowing experience in Vietnam (PLOT POINT - why did they have an obviously traumatized vet like Clint head up a sensitive assignment like this? Oh well....).
In fact, there are two stars to this one. Clint, of course, and that sleek, black dream machine of a MIG that he commandeers. The scene where the camera and Clint circle the plane is almost like a car commercial (all that's missing is Ricardo Montalban talking about its 'rich Corinthian leather' interior).
Other than the loving detail between the two leads, however, everyone else is either an empty-headed caricature or an overplayed buffoon. Either way, it's just filling time until Clint and his ride meet the next harrowing obstacle they must overcome. And there's quite a few.
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Reviews
Cold War cliches on the wing
Review date: 2007-04-29 Rating: 4 out of 10
I'm not sure whether Firefox is really a guilty pleasure or simply a film I remember as being one. It's certainly overlong and overfamiliar despite its neat Maguffin - Clint Eastwood's flashback-plagued Vietnam vet fighter ace has to steal a state-of-the-art warplane with a thought-controlled weapons system (as long as you remember to think in Russian) from the heart of the Evil Empire - but it has a sort of undemanding Cold War charm that the constant stream of clichés only reinforces. Even the old school model effects in the final chase-and-dogfight section are more fun in their way than modern CGI effects, especially when the Firefox is leaving a wall of water in its wake as it races across the sea or causing fallen snow to fill the air as it passes over the mountains, so it's a shame that much of the last third is played in darkened control rooms rather than the skies.
The Russians, naturally, are mostly played by British actors, albeit in this case actors best known for their sitcoms, which adds a different dimension to their scenes as comically humourless KGB types or lemming-like dissidents only too happy to die for the cause, or incorrigible hams like Freddie Jones who simply look like they SHOULD be in a sitcom. There's even an almost admirable perversity into giving most of the explanatory dialogue in the last half-hour to Klaus Löwitsch, an actor with a shaky grasp of spoken English who sounds like a bumblebee caught in a vacuum cleaner pipe. Not good by any means, but strangely watchable, and Maurice Jarre contributes an enjoyable score from the days before he disappeared entirely into atonal electronics.
Whereas the Region 1 NTSC DVD is the uncut theatrical version before Clint re-edited and trimmed the film by some 12 minutes without visibly improving it for video release, sadly the European PAL DVD is the shorter cut version. Boasting a good 2.35:1 widescreen transfer, it also includes a 29-minute British behind the scenes documentary and the theatrical trailer.
Firefox, Wheres The Remake!!!!
Review date: 2006-10-22 Rating: 6 out of 10
Firefox came along in the early eighties in a time where we saw super hi-tec vehicals galore. ie Knight Rider, Streethawk, Blue Thunder and Airwolf but Firefox has to be said is the ultimate. The Mig 31 kitted out in the latest advanced technology with mind recognition weapons system(In Russian of course) has to be the best idea of them all. The previous hi-tec creations would be left as burning circuit boards compared to the might of the Russian born fighter.
Clint Eastwood directs and stars in this 80`s classic and i personally think is kind of underrated. If ever there was a movie that needed a remake then this would be it. The special effects have aged quite badly and although similar to the original Star Wars films it hasnt been done aswell as the george Lucas trilogy. Its a shame really because this film has been well directed and creates tension and thrills at every turn. Dont ask me who would make the best director for a remake or even a sequel but he would have to be good. We wouldnt want another Top Gun and definitely not another Stealth, but it would make a great opportunity to get this film back to its shining glory as we dream of flying the ultimate, most advanced jet fighter in the world.
Spiffy chase scene
Review date: 2005-08-25 Rating: 8 out of 10
Back in the days when the Ruskies were known as the USSR, they invented a supersonic attack plane MiG-31 (Firefox) with the ability to respond to thought. They had it and wee wanted it. So we decided to sneak in and take it. The only problem was that to operate it you had to have Ruskie thoughts as it could tell the difference.
Out only hope was retired pilot Mitchell Gant (Clint Eastwood) but still a tuffy. His mission is to sneak into the USSR and pilfer the plane. Little did we know there is a second plane and a tuffy Ruskie pilot, so the chase is on. To add to the tension Mitchell was a Vietnam prisoner and suffers under stress.
Will he succeed or be shot out of the sky?
The story was probably inspired but the Soviet defection to Japan in the 70's when we pulled their advanced MiG apart to fined that while we moved on to electronic controls that they were still using wire and hydraulics. How ever when we realized it was immured to Electro-magnetic-pulse we had to take a sober look.
Eastwood flies high but DVD never gets off ground
Review date: 2005-01-08 Rating: 8 out of 10
I remember renting this one out from the video shop a heck of a lot in the mid 80s and always loved it. Clint Eastwood is one of those actors who is watchable in just about everything he does and here he plays a war-haunted US pilot sent to steal the Russian super-jet called the FIREFOX. I always liked the way this one started off slowly building up the tension in the airport scenes (where he has his papers checked continually and ends up slugging it out with a KGB agent in the gents) right the way through to the last 1/3 of the film where he flies the FIREFOX home evading Russian missiles, helicopters and a prototype version of the plane that pursues him over the ice-flows. The DVD is a disappointment though in that several scenes are cut out including some at the beginning that sees Eastwood's character train in flight simulators and ponder his chances of success with a fellow officer. Great movie, DVD could have been better
Product Details/Specifications
Actor(s):
Ronald Lacey
Clint Eastwood
David Huffman
Warren Clarke
Freddie Jones
Creators:
Clint Eastwood (Primary Contributor)
Clint Eastwood (Producer)
Freddie Jones (Primary Contributor)
Bruce Surtees (Cinematographer)
Fritz Manes (Producer)
Paul Hitchcock (Producer)
Alex Lasker (Writer)
Craig Thomas (Writer)
Wendell Wellman (Writer)
Director(s):
Recording label: Warner Home Video
Manufacturer: Warner Home Video
EAN: 7321900112192
Binding: DVD
Number of items: 1
Format: PAL,
Release date: 2003-01-27
Number of discs: 1
Audience rating: Suitable for 15 years and over
Region code: 2
Running time: 119 minutes
Theatrical release date: 1982-06-18
Language: English (Original Language)