Red Heat (1988)

Directed by: Walter Hill | 104 minutes | action, thriller, comedy, crime | Actors: Arnold Schwarzenegger, James Belushi, Peter Boyle, Ed O’Ross, Laurence Fishburne, Gina Gershon, Richard Bright, JW Smith, Brent Jennings, Brion James

American action films from the eighties are a genre in their own right. One of the distinguishing elements is a selection of typical action heroes such as Sylvester Stallone and Arnold Schwarzenegger. Men with a bony appearance and little facial expression who can easily take out an entire army on their own. They – the men and the movies – aren’t made that way anymore. Perhaps that is precisely why there is a special kind of appeal to the in many ways rather pointless hard action films from the Ronald Reagan era.

In ‘Red Heat’, Schwarzenegger plays Russian police officer Ivan Danko who is hunting Russian drug dealer Viktor Rostavili (Ed O’Ross) in Chicago. According to the rules of the genre, Danko has a personal motive – Viktor is the one who kills his partner a few minutes into the film and for that reason flees to America. The contradictions between East and West become readily apparent when Danko is paired up with detective Art Ridzik (James Belushi). At first, Danko and Ridzik don’t like each other, but as the film progresses, they slowly grow closer. Entirely according to the principle of the buddy movie.

As far as story and progress of the film are concerned, it’s all a piece of cake and ‘Red Heat’ offers few surprises. But that’s not the point of these kinds of movies. It’s mostly about style. Had director Walter Hill with ’48 Hrs.’ (1982) already proved to be able to make a solid buddy movie, in ‘Red Heat’ he confirms his skills by once again coming up with an entertaining duo. Schwarzenegger and Belushi play opposites that produce an excellent comedic effect. Where Danko mainly uses a straightforward mentality in which he ignores all the rules, Ridzik is constantly worried about the implications of their actions. And that results in a wonderful game of bickering.

Throw in some great action scenes and a dash of needless female nudes and you’ve got a very entertaining action movie. Not one of Schwarzenegger’s best, but definitely decent enough as an eighties curio. And that said – way more entertaining than today’s average action movie. Also because of the supporting roles of interesting actors such as Laurence Fishburne, Peter Boyle and Brion James. The testosterone level is higher, the humor is sharper and the tone is darker. Because in the eighties, these kinds of films were not watered down because of alleged delicate children’s souls. Highly recommended for the nostalgic movie buff!