I was in an antique store a few weeks ago and came across a great find: a Brundlefly action figure from David Cronenberg's remake of The Fly. I got it for about $20 less than the prices on eBay, so I was excited. I tell you this story because it is what led to this review. When I showed Brady my find, he told me that he had never seen The Fly before, but he was aware of the film. We decided to wait a few weeks until the Drake Brothers could all get together and watch the movie together. My friend Ryan (from the Cocktail review) also joined in the fun. This is my third viewing of The Fly, and despite knowing how it ends, it still gets better every time.
The movie starts almost right away. Ronnie, a reporter played by Geena Davis, is sent to a meet-the-press science convention by Stathis, her boss played by John Getz, to "find something interesting." There she meets the protagonist of the film, Seth Brundle (Jeff Goldblum, Jurassic Park). Brundle tells her that she is working on something that will change the world. And indeed he is! You see, Brundle is a lifelong sufferer of motion sickness and cannot even ride a bike without getting queasy. Brundle's illness led him to pursue his life's work, the Telepod. The Telepod is a transportation device that transports objects between two "telepods." Ronnie is skeptical at first but quickly learns that Brundle is telling the truth. Brundle convinces her to not write a report on his invention until it is complete because the Telepod can only successfully transport inanimate objects. It does not take long for Ronnie and Brundle to fall in love, much to the jealousy of Stathis because in addition to being Ronnie's boss he is also her ex-boyfriend.
Now, I bet you are wondering: why is this movie called The Fly? Well, the original 1958 version has the scientist switch heads with a fly. However, the 1986 version does things a bit differently. *Trust me when I say that the less you know about it going into the movie, the better...
I seriously cannot praise this movie enough.
Although many have come to love modern Jeff Goldblum's self-awareness of his own eccentricities, fans will be genuinely impressed with his performance in The Fly. Jeff Goldblum is at the top of his craft here. He won the Saturn Award for Best Actor and in my opinion, should've won for Best Actor at the Oscars as well. Goldblum's odd charisma works extremely well in this role, and I cannot imagine anyone else playing Seth Brundle. Goldblum plays Brundle with great depth and feels like a real person.
The gory makeup/visual effects, used sparingly in the first half of the film, are top-notch. And don't just take my word for it because The Fly (1986) won the Academy Award for Best Makeup. The filmmakers did a good job at being creative with the effects, yet jarringly realistic at the same time. CGI is an effective tool, but the visual effects would not have felt as real if it was used. You feel every bone crunch, splat, and ooze in this movie. The effects alone are worth the price of admission.
Even though it was my third time watching this movie, I still felt emotional by the end of the movie. Not to sound cliche, but Cronenberg truly takes you on a roller coaster ride in this film. All three Drake Brothers and Ryan could not stop talking about this movie after the credits rolled.
The runtime is a lean 1hr and 33min, so what do you have to lose? Even if body horror is not something you normally like, you will still like this movie. And if you love body horror...then you are in for a treat!
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