Red Heat 1988
I never saw this movie, but I was given a 4k digital copy and thought it would be an easy movie to watch. It is easy enough to watch, but seems like it had more potential than it could deliver. Arnold Schwarzenegger plays a Russian cop sent to Chicago where he is partnered with Jim Belushi. Arnold is stiff and Belushi is supposed to be a loose cannon, but Arnold never really loosens up and Belushi isn't particularly funny or competent. They should be one-upping each other in their police skills, but Arnold's character is just doing his own thing the whole movie and Belushi just worries about getting in trouble and doing paperwork. The bad guys are kind of ridiculous caricatures. The two cops never really figure out much on their own as they travel from one violent setup to the next, but never seem to know what is going to hit them. Some of the supporting performances are really bad, though Laurence Fishburne is great as a no nonsense senior cop and Peter Boyle is fun as the chief. The movie feels like a bad version of 48 Hours and in fact has the same writer and director, Walter Hill, but Nick Nolte and Eddie Murphy run circles around these two.
Written: 29 Jun 2025
Owned on: Digital