Jeff Goldblum stars as Seth Brundle a quirky scientist who has a strong dislike for travel. At a corporate function Brundle meets Veronica (Geena Davis) who is a magazine reporter. If she will follow him home Brundle promises to show her something that will change the world. Once back at his loft/lab Brundle unveils two pods. "Phone booths?" Veronica asks. "Teleporters," Brundle corrects. The only problem with the teleporters is that they cannot move organic matter with out destroying it. You will wince at the poor baboon sequence.

Veronica talks Seth into letting her become his exclusive reporter, reluctantly Seth agrees. Over the next few days and weeks Veronica chronicles all of Seth's downfalls and triumphs, all the while the two become closer and closer. One night Seth thinks that Veronica is out with her old boyfriend Stathis (played by John Getz), in a fit of despair Brundle teleports himself, alone, or so he thinks. A fly that had gotten into the pod is genetically fused with Brundel through the teleportation sequence. Seth Brundle emerges from the pod as a new man but in fact is now far from that.

The best thing about The Fly is the fact that Seth does not turn into the creature right away. It is a slow gradual transformation that begins with three small hairs and grows into a total metamorphosis. At first Brundle is in awe of his new prowess, speed, strength and agility. But slowly we watch him turn into the Brundle-Fly, as he calls himself.

As the change quickens Seth first thinks he has a form of cancer, but changes his mind as he gains more insect like abilities. There are also a few great scenes of gore and grossness in this film as well. Watch as Seth begins to create the "Brundle Museum" in his bathroom, and I promise you after you watch "How the Brundle-Fly eats" you will never look at doughnuts the same again. I am sure you will be more than pleased, or at least you'll "Be afraid, be very afraid."

9.5/10, a tremendous remake

Cronenberg's The Fly is, in my opinion, among the more meaningful films out there. With a small cast of characters and even very few plot elements, Cronenberg created a gripping and extremely tight story, one in which nearly every element can be seen as a signifier. The Fly is actually pretty stark in some ways, but is one of those films where every detail is important -- not because there's some puzzle to be solved, but rather because the film looks more deeply than most at what it means to be human.

Somehow less surreal than some of Cronenberg's other corruption-of-the-flesh films, The Fly is at heart a tragedy, and functions as a disturbing examination of many important aspects of our existence: technology, disease, evolution, love, sex, and sacrifice.

With such a tight story and small cast, strong acting is very important. Fortunately, Jeff Goldblum and Geena Davis each give one of their finest performances ever. Goldblum inhabits the character of Seth Brundle eerily well, moving from a charmingly eccentric, self-effacing intellectual through various stages of development and degeneration that are not just physical but deeply emotional and psychological. He practically seems like several different people (exhibiting some very fly-like behavior at times) over the course of the film, while communicating the same core pathos throughout. Geena Davis is very believable as Ronnie Quaife, and gives off the perfect amount of intelligence, confusion, pity, disgust, and love in just the right combinations. It's refreshing to see a well-rounded female lead in a horror or sci-fi movie who can be strong without kicking ass, and who doesn't need to behave immaturely in order to convey a sense of losing control (in this case, control over her surroundings, situation, and even the very bodies of her lover and herself). Davis and Goldblum were married the year after The Fly's theatrical release, and the chemistry between them here is very palpable (more so than in Earth Girls Are Easy).

To compare/contrast Cronenberg's remake with the original Fly would take far more space than I have here (and I'm probably starting to irritate the Horrorwatchers already with my long-windedness). Overall, even without seeing any special significance to anything, The Fly makes a great horror/sci-fi flick. The effects are wonderfully nasty, the images of violence are contained but quite vivid, and there is some great suspense.

As an aside, The Fly also makes me nostalgic for quite a bit from the '80s. Remember when the internet was nonexistent, computers were clunky, and their potential was only being guessed at? Remember when red meat was the choice for a romantic meal out, instead of Mediterranean salads or "Asian Fusion" cuisine on tiny dishes? I also remember waiting for Jeff Goldblum and Geena Davis to produce beautiful 7-ft-tall children (who would not look like Eric Stoltz).

10 out of 10 cheeseburgers.