Post by stefancrosscoe on Jul 17, 2017 10:58:35 GMT
"I do not want to touch his ass. I want to make him talk!"
The no nonsense, do-it-by-the-book Russian cop Captain Ivan Danko (Arnold Schwarzenegger) must join forces with the American, loudmouthed inner city cop Art Ridzik (James Belushi) as the two must try not only to survive each others company but to find a way of putting an end to a brutal Soviet crime lord who is just looking for a new start in the land of free.
Another late 80s American buddy-cop action film directed by Walter Hill, and starring Arnold Schwarzenegger and James Belushi in the parts as one very unlikely duo, which of course is more or less the premise for most of the buddy-cop films of that time.
Compared to buddy-cop classics such as Midnight Run (1988) or 48 Hour (1982), I think Red Heat is not on that level, but it sure has its fun moments and some really good jokes/one liners, but it can be "too much" also, and for me, I think it stands as one of the "lesser" films of Arnie at that time, if compared against monster titles like Predator (1987) or The Terminator (1984) or even his own action classics such as Commando (1985), Conan The Barberian (1982) and fits more in with the silly but very enjoyable action vehicles such as The Running Man (1987) and Raw Deal (1986).
Red Heat still come along with some great stuff, which includes a very "realistic" villain, or at least compared to guys like Bennett (Commando) or the hilarious bounty hunters from The Running Man, as Ed O'Ross does a fantastic job as the truly menacing and brutal villain in the film, Viktor "Rosta" Rostavili and while he might not seem like a "worthy" opponent to someone who looks like Arnold, he sure comes off as a very cunning, sly and just about cruel-as-there-is figure, who will do whatever it takes to get things his way, and if you end up standing in his way, he will not hesitate for one second before putting a bullet into your face.
Arnie plays the part of Danko as wooden as possible, but always with a smirk/smile behind the strict/frozen mask, and I liked his partnership with Belushi, as it could have gone terrible wrong, thankfully it did not.
Belushi on the other hand does one of his best action/comedy roles, and while he tried to succed once again, in another buddy-cop film, known as K-9 (1989), where he stars against a dog partner, he never quite was as funny as in Red Heat in his later action efforts.
In other parts we find the beautiful Gina Gershon, the always reliable Peter Boyle, a very young Larry Fishburne (here I think he went under the name of Lawrence Fishbourne, might be his real name or that is sounded more classy/elegant), Brion James (who once again steals the show as one of his most sleazy/nasty villain roles) and Arnold's former body builder buddy Sven-Ole Thorsen.
The soundtrack is done by none other than James Horner, who once again makes effective and great use of the classic 80s steel drums, that he made into the action history books with, in Commando (1985).
All in all, Red Heat is enjoyable and fun for what it is, or isn't, so do not expect a masterpiece, but instead grab some beers/cold drinks and a pizza, sit down and just let the brain take a pause for the next 100-110 minutes and enjoy this late 80s cheeze fest.