Firefox

"Firefox", while definitely dated, is a good Cold War spy thriller that falls far short of being great. Clint Eastwood plays Mitchell Gant, a burned-out Vietnam fighter pilot who's enlisted to steal a high-tech, heavily-armed, stealth Soviet fighter plane right out of its Siberian hangar. The first half of the film is a John le Carre type thriller – Clint sneaking into Moscow, assuming a Soviet pilot's identity, and making his way to the experimental Firefox fighter craft. The second half, when he climbs into the cockpit of the Firefox, is where the real fun begins.

While entertaining, the film isn't particularly great – apart from Clint's gritty performance as Mitchell Gant, none of the other actors manage to stand out in any way. The jet fighter sequences also haven't stood the test of time – they looked great in the Eighties, but now they just look dated and unrealistic. Certain scenes in the film are little more than padding, buying breathing room between action scenes and doing little else. There's enough tension and action scattered throughout the film to make `Firefox' fun, but there's much better Cold War movies than this (`The Russia House' and `The Hunt for Red October' easily come to mind), and there's certainly much better Clint Eastwood movies than this. B-/C+

Clint Eastwood plays Michael Gant, a burnt out veteran sent into the Soviet Union on a desperate mission to steal the greatest warplane ever built.

Minimal training, mental problems, murderous allies, constant danger. His only qualification - he speaks Russian, he knows how to fly and he fits the flight suit.

What I like most about Firefox is how it really puts you in Clint Eastwood's shoes. His character Gant is no super spy - he's a war veteran suffering severe mental problems as a result of his POW experiences. At every twist and turn of the plot the movie captures his tension and fear. His inexperience and mistakes endanger him repeatedly. His only protection - a thin, unravelling web of deception and a fickle KGB desire to observe a little before pouncing.

A must see for fans of atmospheric espionage films and Clint Eastwood.

This thrilling and intriguing movie is set during Cold War , the URSS has developed a high-tech jet called MiG-31 that can be partially controlled by a neuralink . The Soviets have made a sophisticated aircraft , the latest aeronautic marvel that flies at 6 times the speed of sound, is invulnerable to radar, and worst of all it has a lethal technological weapons system that the pilot can control through cerebral waves and thought . As soon as the pilot detects a threat - either visually or a scope - his brain impulses will direct a missile to that threat , without so much as pushing a button . The American fighter pilot assigned by Secret Service (Freddie Jones) is the Vietnam veteran named Mitchell Gant (Clint Eastwood), a burned-out USAF ace pilot, is smuggled into the USSR to infiltrate the Russian airbase at Bilyarsk, where the supersonic fighting plane Firefox/MiG-31 is being terminated , he must rob it and avoid the mass production that would give the Russians a huge advance . Officer Mitchell Gant goes behind Russian lines and faces a dangerous assignment . In Russia is helped by various secret agents (Warren Clarke, Nigel Hawthorne , Ronald Lacey) against KGB (Hugh Frazer , David Gant) and Soviet officials ( Kenneth Colley ,Oliver Cotton , Klaus Lowitsch ) .

Eastwood directs , produces and plays this exciting film about a pilot sent into the Soviet Union on a mission to steal a prototype jet fighter . This overlong picture takes a while to take off , but when it does , it's cool film . It contains suspense , thrills , intrigue , action-packed and is pretty entertaining . Spectacular aerial pursuits and dogfighting in ¨Star Wars¨ style created by FX expert John Dykstra who made special visual effects in several films such as ¨Galactica , Star Trek ,Batman , Spiderman , X men and Hanckock ¨. Ample support cast full of prestigious British actors who make good performances as as Freddie Young , Kenneth Colley , Stefan Schnabel , David Huffman , Nigel Hawthorne , Warren Clarke and Ronal Lacey , among them . Colorful and appropriate cinematography by Bruce Surtees ,son of great cameraman Robert Surtess and Eastwood's usual . Thrilling and suspenseful score by the maestro Maurice Jarre . Rating : Acceptable and passable but slow-moving and over lengthy .

Major Mitchell Gant an ex-Vietnam pilot who suffers from mentally scarred flashbacks and lives a life in solitary in the woods. He's asked back onto a mission, which involves sneaking into the USSR in many disguises. So that he can steal the Russia's new high-tech MIG-31 fighter plane called the "Firefox", which its weaponry works on mind control. Since his America's best pilot, naturally his their first choice to get the plane and fly it back to western soil.

I read a lot complaints against Eastwood's pacing being quite sluggish and can't help but agree. Although the final half of the film might get all the applause with its visual effects and fast-paced action thrills. But actually, I got more out of the atmospherically brooding old hat spy set-up involving Eastwood's character travelling around Vienna (masquerading very effectively as Moscow) to get to the MIG-31. After getting to the jet, it simply falls into the unremarkable bracket and the visual gimmicks come off junky looking and lack any real spark despite the rapid build-up. When it comes to the end, it feels sudden and unfulfilling. Eastwood is pretty dry, but convincing nonetheless as Major Mitchell Gant (since he can get along alone by his magnetic screen presence) and he tackles the director's chair with sharply tight, but practically no-frills direction. The pacing throughout does seem to flounder, but Eastwood creates some moody scenes with gloomy lighting (plenty of nocturnal shots) and Bruce Surtees' burnished photography is splendidly framed to achieve an atmospheric air of growing paranoia. Maurice Jarre's vividly classy music score is titillatingly on the spot. Eastwood deliberately soaks up the bleakly audacious cold war story (adapted off Craig Thomas' 1977 novel) with an array of twists, alienation and minor suspense chipped out of Alex Lasker's hauntingly calculated, but choppy screenplay. Two weak points though, would be there's not much focus and some coincidences are hard to digest. Why I say minor in the tension, is because the suspense doesn't last real long and by being overlong it becomes too relaxed in its own high-strung set-up. The productive script is highly talkative and filled with political jargon, but settles in with some warm moments to share a bit light on the characters. The supporting cast are all capably solid with the likes of Freddie Jones, David Huffman, Warren Clarke, Kenneth Colley and Stefan Schnabel. The glazed up special effects by John Dykstra (who won an Oscar for his work on "Star Wars (1977)") might be mesmerizing and refreshing, but they are far from impressive with one or two arresting sequences executed in between many clumsy takes.

"Firefox" is nothing particularly exciting and far from a success, but I found it strangely captivating and a handsome looking feature. The idea just doesn't entirely translate on this occasion.

During the height of the Cold War, the Soviet military develops a super high-tech fighter aircraft - it flies fast, has deadly weapons, and has technology that allows the pilot to control guided missiles with his mind. Basically any army with this baby in its arsenal will have air superiority. Clint is assigned to steal it from the heart of Soviet territory for the USA.

The plot is fairly generic and in this day and age most Cold War thrillers have seem to have lost much of their edge, but this is nonetheless an entertaining film from Eastwood. It is not one of his best and not one that he will be remembered for, but no one can deny the slickness of the plane of the title. The final section of the film, which admittedly does take a while to get to, has Clint flying around and raising hell is a fun ride and on par with the final chase in "Where Eagles Dare" in terms of entertainment. However, the buildup has enough suspense to make the whole movie worth a watch. 7/10

Rated PG: violence