This sequel to F/X starts off as a dark thriller but evolves into something far more casual and lightweight. Bryan Brown is back as Rollie Tyler, the film special-effects man who now specialises only in high-tech toys, such as a clown whose movements obey its owners. He's asked by his wife's ex-husband, a cop, to help with the special effects on a stakeout. Naturally it all goes wrong, the cop is killed unexpectedly by a second, unknown criminal, and Rollie becomes involved with the case. The first 20 minutes are gripping stuff, but credibility is soon as illusory as Rollie's bag of tricks, and the denouement of the plot looks more like something from a James Bond film, or a caper thriller from the Sixties. By the end, no-one, least of all Brian Dennehy as a policeman turned private eye, seems to be taking it too seriously. Pity.

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