The Fly (1986)

A well-made film. Good suspense, and great use of sound, especially when he first appears as the fly. A cross between Frankenstein, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and Beauty and the Beast. Many logical flaws. How come there is no DNA fusion with the zillions of microbes in the teleporter and on his body? What about dust? If the computer has the technology to fuse DNA, why doesn’t it have the technology to split it? Why didn’t a man that smart safeguard against fusion in the first place? Technical flaws, too. Why does the computer (as with many other computers in other movies) make cool little technological noises when you’re typing and text appears on the screen? When he’s hanging on the cieling, how come his clothes aren’t hanging? The “no living matter can go through the teleporter” is in The Terminator. That “sugar in your coffee” line was in True Romance. A long fade symbolized a large passage of time quite effectively.

Great effects, most of them are really nasty, like the wrist-breaking arm wrestle. Nasty dream sequence. This film marks a huge advance in special effects. The Terminator, which used the best effects available, was made only 2 years earlier, and this film looks a lot more polished.

Goldblum is definitely typecast as that bumbling, know-it-all philosopher-scientist. He’s good in that role. He also has a funny “I’m cool” walk, with his arms held out and his feet close together. Geena’s first good movie. She has nice puppy dog eyes.