A tough Russian policeman is forced to partner up with a cocky Chicago police detective when he is sent to Chicago to apprehend a Georgian drug lord who killed his partner and fled the country.
As a child of the ’70s, my teen years were spent watching films of the ’80s and there was no better time for action movies. Back then you had Schwarzenegger, Stallone, Ford, weaver, Willis, Russell, Van Damme, Norris, Gibson, Eastwood, and Seagal, all of them the embodiment of what a real action star epitomizes. They wouldn’t have survived in today’s constantly-offended-butthurt-politically-correct-culture unless you sent those whiny asses a tube of Preparation-H. Back then, action heroes were not afraid to kill the bad guy by any means necessary and hurl one-liners at them just as they’re about to eviscerate them: “Stick around,” says Schwarzenegger in “Predator” after impaling a bad guy to a wall by means of a machete; “You’re a disease, and I’m the cure,” says Stallone to a bad guy whom he then proceeds to shoot one million times in “Cobra”; “Let off some steam, Bennett,” says Schwarzenegger to another bad guy in “Commando” as he impales him to a wall with a steam pipe. You get the picture, the ’80s were not politically correct by any means or in any medium, and as a result, we have some of the best action movies of all time.
With Walter Hill’s “Red Heat,” a director known for more serious fare such as “Southern Comfort,” “The Long Riders,” “The Driver,” and “Johnny Handsome,” Schwarzenegger was cast alongside funnyman Jim Belushi who, quite honestly, was not very funny throughout. I hadn’t watched this movie in a very long time and my memories of Belushi were from other, more comical films such as “About Last Night,” “Little Shop of Horrors,” “K-9,” and “Real Men” with John Ritter. Here, he was the amusing sidekick but even a lamppost could have played that role as Schwarzenegger played the part of Moscow Militia Captain Ivan Danko straightfaced and devoid of any humor, something audiences had come to expect. It was actually refreshing to see the Austrian Oak play his role earnestly and while he made an occasional quip, most of the jokes were left to Belushi.
When Ivan Danko’s (Schwarzenegger) partner Lieutenant Yuri Ogarkov (Oleg Vidov) is shot and killed by Georgian drug kingpin Viktor Rostavili (Ed O’Ross), he escapes Russian police and makes his way to Chicago. Danko is sent to the U.S. with strict orders to bring Rostavili back where he teams up with Chicago cop Art Ridzik (Jim Belushi). Ridzik doesn’t take the case too seriously until his partner, Max Gallagher (Richard Bright), is shot and killed by Rostavili’s henchmen. Then he and Danko get serious as they set out to track down and capture Rostavili, by any means necessary.
“Red Heat” employs elements of director Walter Hill’s signature trademarks, including a penchant for realistic, violent shootouts and authentic dialog between its two lead protagonists. Ed O’Ross made a name for himself back in the ’80s and ’90s playing bad guys and here he portrays a Georgian drug lord with great validity and is one of only a handful of actors who can deliver a snarling insult and make it sound alarmingly palpable. Schwarzenegger was in his prime here and both he and Belushi performed many of their own stunts. The overall narrative is as clichéd as any other ’80s or ’90s action film where two characters had to team up to catch the bad guys and initially hated each other but by the movie’s end, became best friends, see “Lethal Weapon,” “Tango & Cash,” and “Die Hard With A Vengeance” but here, Schwarzenegger and Belushi share enough on-screen chemistry that the story becomes insignificant and we get caught up watching their incessant bickering and constant, unenthusiastic partnership. If it’s been a while since you saw “Red Heat,” or if you haven’t seen it yet, check it out, you won’t be disappointed.
Available on 4K Ultra HD™ Combo Pack (plus Blu-ray™ and Digital) for the first time on October 29th
