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Re-watching Firefox in 2021


socrates63

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I watched Firefox as a kid when it was first released in theaters back in 1983. When I saw the trailer, I remember thinking that the fighter jet looked very cool, and a story about stealing a super secret futuristic fighter jet from commie scum sounded like a lot of fun. Unfortunately, the movie did not meet the expectations of a 14 year old (and many adults as well who panned the movie). There simply wasn't enough action and explosions that the story seemed to deserve. I filed it away in my memory as a disappointment from childhood.

Fast forward nearly forty years into the future to 2021. In my 50s, I often find myself looking back and now enjoying the things from my childhood and adolescence even more than I did back then. During the last year or two, I've become an Eastwood fan and have watched several of his movies. I even saw the first Dirty Harry movie for the very first time earlier this year. Being a recent Eastwood fan, I wondered how I'd react to watching Firefox again. A couple of months ago, I bought the blu-ray and DVD releases of Firefox. Today, I loaded up the blu-ray and gave it a spin.

I very much enjoyed Firefox. It's definitely not the kind of action flick that my 14 year old self craved. Firefox is very much a suspense thriller with a little sci-fi thrown in (although the technology on display in the jet fighter don't seem to far fetched anymore). However, it's definitely an 80s movie with some campy acting by some of the cast. I also read the one-liners quoted from movie critics cited in Wikipedia entry for the movie, and I'd have to agree with much of the criticism. But why did I still enjoy the movie?

I think it's because of Clint Eastwood. He knows what he's good at and the type of characters that he suit him well. Major Mitchell Gant, the protagonist of Firefox, is a loner, a broken Vietnam vet with skills second to none (jet fighter pilot in this case). It sounds a lot like many of his Western movie characters, a man of few words but who's actions are loud. The man has made an entire career, a very lengthy career, playing such characters, and he does it well.

If you want to revisit the 80s movie scene, give Firefox a try. As for me, my next 80s movie on deck is Star Trek: The Motion Picture (Director's Edition). I was bored to death watching it in the theater as a kid. I'm hoping I will have a better appreciation for it now.

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16 minutes ago, RickR said:

Did you notice who the bad guy is in that first DH movie?  It's a very young Andrew Robinson, who plays Garak an Star Trek Deep Space 9! 

 

Just a plain simple tailor? 🤔

 

15 minutes ago, RickR said:

I remember it being kind of like Afterburner...with mainly the background being laserdisc footage from the movie.  A lot more video-game based than Dragon's Lair IMO. 

 

YES 🙌 Very true!

 

 

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