I recently, as I do from to time, purchased a DVD of a movie after seeing it being broadcast on a TV cable channel. AMC recently aired FIREFOX(1982) and, discovering it wasn't in my modest DVD collection, I ordered it online from Amazon.
Clint Eastwood stars in this action adventure film as former Air Force ace pilot "Mitchell Gant", a man recruited by a joint U.S./UK group to steal a top secret
Russian jet capable of Mach 5 speed, possessing an invisibility cloak
and thought controlled on-board weapon system. Gant, recruited because of
his Russian heritage(on his mother's side), his top notch abilities as a
jet pilot and his ability to speak Russian, is well qualified for the
high risk assignment but also suffers from PTSD(post traumatic stress
syndrome) from his capture and torture at the hands of the Viet Cong
after being shot down during a Vietnam War sortie.
A great part
of the film focuses on Gants' initial incursion into Russia and his
efforts to avoid and evade the KGB which begins following his every move
upon his arrival in Moscow. Gant assumes several fake identities and is
aided in his efforts by a group of anti Soviet sympathizers who,
despite some very close calls, manage to get Mitchell Gant into the
hangar and close proximity with "Firefox", the MiG 31 jet he has been
tasked with stealing. Eventually Gant manages to get into the warplane's
cockpit and take off, triggering an all out effort by the Russians to
shoot him down. (no other spoilers).
This movie has grown on me
over the years. The big knock on this movie is how long it takes for the
real action and special effects to get going which I get. Still, once
Gant is in the air piloting "Firefox" the movie really takes off,
literally.
Firefox(1982) is on Blu Ray: it's paired with 1986's "Heartbreak Ridge" as a double feature BD release and also is part of the "Clint Eastwood 20 Film Collection" BD release(which is pricey at $119.99). I'm guessing this movie is generally hit or miss with action movie fans.
Eastwood's performance as ex Air Force pilot "Mitchell Gant" is at times
a little too casual for me but some of the supporting cast are
surprisingly good including Freddie Jones as British SAS point man "Kenneth Aubry" and Stefan Schnabel, the latter who plays rumpled looking, grouchy,
sullen and menacing Soviet First Secretary "Leonid Brezhnev".
The
special effects are a bit uneven and bear in mind that they cannot
compare now with CGI and other green screen effects tech.That said I like the action effects overall.
I'd definitely recommend Firefox(1982) as a Netflix movie rental for action movie fans who haven't seen it.
An HD trailer:
Click the link to see Firefox(1982) for sale at Amazon: FIREFOX DVD at Amazon
