Protraph Lack of good storyline.

Acensbart Excellent but underrated film

Lancoor A very feeble attempt at affirmatie action

Celia A great movie, one of the best of this year. There was a bit of confusion at one point in the plot, but nothing serious.

fees707 As soon as Arnie's butt makes an appearance, this standard buddy-cop flic takes off. I say standard, but I mean it lovingly here; the beats of the 80's actioners are hit with an unerring regularity that satiates this little ol' 80's heart o mine. Everything is solid in the solid hands of Walter "Solid" Hill. It's as sharp as Arnie's do, as chiseled as Arnie's chin and as tight as Arnie's butt.But...the great Jim Belushi experiment breaks down the stone foundations and it's then, and only then, that the cracks start to appear. Don't get me wrong, Jim's not that bad, it's just a kinda dull character played with only momentary sparks of enthusiasm.4 solid stars, 1 giant Austrian and 2 perfect butt cheeks.

Predrag No introduction needed here in regards to the story - at least there's quite a bit of humor to evenly match the brilliant action scenes, not many films are like this, and that makes one fact clear : it's a recipe for a very good script. This has to be one of my favorite 1980's Arnold Schwarzenegger films. As tough, stoic and uncompromising Captain Ivan Danko of the Moscow Police he is hunting a brutal Georgian drugs kingpin who has fled the Soviet Union and ended up in Chicago. Sent by his superiors to apprehend and discreetly return this elusive criminal to the Soviet Union Danko soon finds himself working with James Belushi's wise cracking 'slob-cop'. This violent thriller is very reminiscent of director Walter Hill's other male buddy action movie "48 Hours" as both protagonists defy police protocol in order to capture the man responsible for the death of their partners. The contrast between the chaotic capitalist excesses of Chicago and Danko's single minded Terminatoresque pursuit of his man forms the basis of much of the film's humour where Danko's pithy observations punctuate this entertaining action movie. And on to Belushi, who puts in his greatest performance, and steals the movie away from everyone else, and not many can do this with Schwarzenegger. Whenever Belushi is on screen, the film springs to life, and it turns from an average cop movie, to something a little bit more special.All of the above sounds pretty much the standard Hollywood cop story formula and that does not bode well but this movie wins on its execution and balance. It's very well edited with a constant but not overwhelming flow of action and a script that gives both Belushi and Schwarzenegger occasion to deliver moments of levity. Both leads are well cast and they do a good job together and you can believe not just in the characters but in the way that they rub along together. Despite the fact that parts of the movie were shot in Russia and Eastern Europe using local actors, the movie does not seem to move beyond a stereotyped view of the people and country. That is really just a small criticism though and the important thing is that this is one of the best buddy-cop movies around.Overall rating: 9 out of 10.

Leofwine_draca RED HEAT is another of those buddy-buddy cop movies that came out in the late '80s after the success of 48 HOURS and LETHAL WEAPON. This one has a good director and cast, with Walter Hill calling the shots in a crisp, stylish, hard-headed way, and Schwarzenegger and Belushi creating sparks as the robotic cop and foul-mouthed joker respectively.The plot is lightweight and simple, following the detectives as they chase down a villainous crook, and to be fair it follows the action template of many an '80s films – there's plenty of shoot-outs, a few fist fights, and even a couple of vehicle chases thrown in for good measure. It's book-ended by a couple of well-remembered sequences (the sauna showdown that begins the movie and the game of coach chicken that finishes it) although my favourite moment sees Schwarzenegger blowing away a criminal gang in the grotty corridors of a sleazy hotel.Aside from the central twosome, there are roles for Peter Boyle and a youthful Laurence Fishburne as top cops, Gina Gershon as a breathtakingly beautiful woman caught up in the crimes, Pruitt Taylor Vince as a hotel owner and Brion James as a sleazy crim (what else?). THE HIDDEN's Ed O'Ross is on good form as a thoroughly despicable villain. Although this is far from Schwarzenegger's best film, it passes the time amiably enough and is a lot stronger than many of his later efforts.

zardoz-13 Writer & director Walter Hill did what all good filmmakers have done at some point in their careers. He recycled some situations from his earlier works, and his post-Cold War thriller "Red Heat" constitutes the result. This police procedural, buddy picture borrows notions from earlier Hill movies such as "The Driver" starring Ryan O'Neal and "48 HRS," co-starring Nick Nolte and Eddie Murphy. Basically, muscle-bound, bodybuilder Arnold Schwarzenegger is appropriately cast as a hard-boiled Soviet cop, Captain Ivan Danko, who is dispatched by his Moscow superiors to retrieve a Russian citizen who has been arrested for running a red light in Chicago, Illinois. The irony is the wicked Viktor Rostavili has struck a deal to purchase five million dollars in heroin and smuggle the narcotics back to Mother Russia. This part of the screenplay by Hill, along with "Bullitt" scribe Harry Kleiner, and "Kelly's Heroes" scripter Troy Martin Kennedy, relies on the standard-issue plot about one cop being sent to a faraway place to retrieve a prisoner and escort the felon back to his jurisdiction. Don Siegel's "Coogan's Bluff" put Clint Eastwood in a similar situation, while the John Wayne thriller "Brannigan" put the Duke in an extradition fueled plot.Eventually, our 'fish-out-of-water' hero, Captain Danko (Arnold Schwarzenegger 0f "The Terminator"), teams up with a tenacious but trouble-prone Windy City cop, Detective Sergeant Art Ridzik (James Belushi), who yearns for payback. Not only did Danko lose a partner back in Soviet Union during his pursuit of Vicktor, but also Ridzik loses his own partner, Detective Sergeant Gallagher (Richard Bright of "The Getaway"), as Danko is poised to board the plane with Rostavili. Out of nowhere, a group of bald African-Americans know as 'clean heads' disguised as armored car guards surprise Danko, beat him into submission, and release Vicktor. They murder Gallagher during this sudden, blitz encounter. Meantime, Danko discovers a key that Rostavili had to a bus station locker. Danko musters his strength after the ambush to drag himself across the floor and seize the key. Like a similar key in "The Driver," Vicktor's key opens a bus station locker that contains his loot. Diagnosed with a concussion, Danko doesn't let his cracked skull or two obnoxious Soviet diplomats spook him about his loss of Rostavili. Of course, Danko shouldn't have been packing iron, but he brought along a piece anyway and got it through customs in the diplomatic immunity bag. Ridnzik and he set out to find the evil Rostavili, and they talk to a woman, Cat Manzetti (Gina Gershon of "Showgirls"), who married Victor for $10 thousand. Manzetti has a bad habit of turning up at the wrong time in their investigation. She is in the Chicago Hospital where one of Vicktor's gunsels is being treated for serious gunshot wounds inflicted by Ridzik. Vicktor dispatches a man dressed as a nurse to inject a bubble into the wounded man to kill him. Our heroes blast this ill-fated nurse into the next world, and Danko lets Manzetti escape. Danko has to relinquish his automatic, but Ridzik loans him a .44 Magnum revolver.Director Walter Hill has fashioned one of the best testosterone-laden, guy movies with "Red Heat." Neither Danko nor Vicktor is willing to back down from each other. The shoot-out in the Garvin Hotel when Vicktor sends the 'Cleanhead' gangsters into the wrong room after Danko is bloody. The outrageous finale when Danko and Rostvavili charge each other in passenger buses makes for a spectacular, slam-bang showdown. Danko is the ultimate, irrepressible, hard-boiled cop. Nothing stops Danko from nailing Vicktor, and Vicktor is a thoroughgoing dastard. Ed O'Ross makes a memorable villain. Incidentally, the initial confrontation between Vicktor and Danko reminded me of Nick Nolte's Texas Ranger in "Extreme Prejudice" meeting the pot-growing rednecks at the bar. "Red Heat" lives up to its name.