Red Heat (1988) - Retrospective Review

Director: Walter Hill

Cast: Arnold Schwarzenegger, James Belushi, Gina Gershon, Ed O'Ross, Peter Boyle

Country: United States / Russia

Rating: R

Run Time: 104 min

Red Heat is a buddy cop film from writer/director Walter Hill (The Warriors) that came out during the buddy cop craze. Hill's 1982 smash hit, 48 Hrs, helped popularize and establish the buddy cop sub-genre and formula in the first place. Six years later, Hill found himself returning to the genre that he helped establish with Red Heat, a buddy cop actioner that sought to portray Russians in a positive manner unlike another 1988 actioner, Rambo III. 

The film is both light Arnold Schwarzenegger and light Walter Hill, neither an exemplary piece of filmmaking in either bad ass icon's filmography nor a blemish either. The story may contain solid substance in the form of a Russian and an American trying to learn how to work together in a post-Cold War world, but it otherwise goes with the motions and engages the viewer in no way beyond a hilarious one-liner here and a bad ass shootout there. Still, action fans would be kidding themselves to miss out on a lesser 80s buddy cop film, especially one starring the biggest action star of the 80s, Schwarzenegger. 

"Cocanum!"

Captain Ivan Danko (Arnold Schwarzenegger), a Russian police officer, is in search of Viktor Rosta (Ed O Ross), a Russian drug dealer. When Danko and his partner engage Rosta, Danko loses both his partner and several of his officers in the ensuing shootout. As Rosta flees to Chicago, Danko pursues after him and eventually teams up with Chicago police officer Art Ridzik (James Belushi) in order to obtain jurisdiction in America. The two must learn to work with one another and take down Rosta after becoming personally engaged in the case. 

While other action films of the 80s depicted Russians as villains and Americans as heroes, Red Heat was one of the first to present a solution to the two's indifferences. The crux of the film is its buddy pairing between Danko, a strict and stoic Russian cop, and Ridzik, a foulmouthed but lighthearted American officer. Red Heat straight up addresses the vast differences between the two countries' peoples, but opts for a positive message about team work and setting aside said differences. 

The script finds common ground for its two characters in the form of their profession and quest to combat crime and the cocaine drug craze of the 80s. Danko sends off the film with an excellent line that sums up the entire film's message about the tension between the Russians and the Americans, "We are both cops, not politicians." I don't know about you, but I think that is a rather profound and strong message to end a buddy cop film on. To be honest, it's the only profound or noble message in the entire film, as everything else is pretty much 80s excess. Still, Red Heat shows notable progression in its depiction of Russians in American cinema as opposed to Rambo III's message to the Russians, "F*** em!"

"Freeze motherf*****!"

I know that people love to crap on Arnold Schwarzenegger as an actor, but I think that he gives a very good performance in this film as a Russian officer. Even though he is the furthest thing from Russian, his height, hair cut, and muscles sell the role. Danko learns over the course of the film that his Russian superiors are a tad too intense and that enforcing the law is more important that saving face for his country. 

While it is clear that Danko is the action guy of the buddy pairing, Red Heat is a rare example of buddy cop cinema in which the action guy completely overshadows the more comical guy, that being Belushi's Ridzik. After all, Arnold was a movie star at the time, and it's hard to think of Arnold sharing top billing with any other actor. Therefore, he makes for an interesting choice for a buddy cop film, a sub-genre of action cinema all about sharing screen time and themes of friendship. In retrospect, I am happy to see that Arnold tackled the buddy cop sub-genre at least once in his filmography. I also realized that Ivan Danko's name sounds an awful lot like Ivan Drago, Dolph Lundgren's character from Stallone's Rocky IV. It's an odd coincidence, but both Ivans are Russian, tall, muscular, and have the same haircut. Once again, leave it to Stallone to taint the image of Russians.

Even though Red Heat is as entertaining as most of the action films of its respective decade, the film rarely engages or pulls in the viewer as much as it should. One of the film's weaknesses is in fact its buddy pairing. Although unique, Arnold Schwarzenegger and James Belushi don't exactly make for a lovable duo of characters unlike the unforgettable pairings found in the Lethal Weapon and Rush Hour franchises. One could make the argument that a Russian and an American duo aren't supposed to work together exactly, and that could be the reason for the strangeness of the duo. However, Chris Tucker and Jackie Chan, an African American and an Asian, played completely different characters in Rush Hour and found a way to become one of action cinema's most memorable duos. Red Heat's buddy pair lacks the chemistry and sense of team work that makes other buddy pairs fun to watch. With everything being particularly dire, and Belushi honestly playing back up to Arnold, Red Heat is a rather humorless affair.

The characters themselves aren't exactly memorable or likable beyond the actors who play them too. The film adds insult to injury with a plot that heavily drags in its action-less second act, relying mainly upon formula and expected story beats. Most flawed films suffer from weak second acts, and Red Heat is one of them. If the film didn't feature the Russian angle, than it would be like any other bland buddy cop actioner out there with only style to boot, and style can only go so far when you've seen the umpteenth amount of action films that I have.

"You are a stupid!"

All insults aside, Red Heat is still a blast to watch. The film is pure Andrew Vajna and Mario Kassar produced 80s action, backed up by director Walter Hill and composer James Horner. The film is packed with everything that one adores about 80s action cinema: excessive violence, memorable one-liners, larger than life characters, scummy villains, unnecessary nudity, recognizable character actors, foul language, and vehicular mayhem. Hill's buddy flick also features some of Arnold's most hilarious one-liners, especially the unforgettable, "Cocanum!" Other hits include, "Who is Dirty Harry," "You are a stupid," "I am not sh*tting on you," and "Holy carne." 

Hill is one of the great filmmakers of bad ass cinema, haven directed several classics (The Warriors, The Long Riders, Southern Comfort) as well as a few lesser films (Extreme Prejudice, Last Man Standing, Bullet to the Head) that entertain no matter how good or bad they are. His eye for action is as great as ever here, directing a minimal but memorable selection of action sequences. As with most buddy films, the body count is especially light, although the sequences are quite good. Highlights include a bevy of solid shootouts, as well as a fantastic final car chase in which Arnold and Ed O Ross' characters plow buses through Chicago's city streets and landmarks. Despite a rather cheap and lousy final face off between Danko and main villain Rosta, Red Heat is filled with satisfactory action from start to finish.

Surprisingly enough, the most annoying element of the entire film is Horner's score. While typically an amazing artist, the late composer delivers a sub-standard and highly repetitive score that will grate your ears thirty minutes into the film. I honestly wondered to myself if Horner wasn't just re-composing tunes from Commando several scenes into the film. However, Horner is notorious for his similar sounding scores. Therefore, I should have known what I was getting in too. 

Nothing like a good ol' bus chase.

Red Heat is a perfect example of style over substance for 80s action cinema. The film's action is directed and photographed well, but the story that surrounds said antics is fairly bland and predictable for those who have been around the action block before. That being said, Red Heat is commendable for its positive message about team work amongst varying nations and for Arnold's great performance as a Russian officer. Besides, 80s action cinema is so popular and beloved amongst action fans that they honestly don't need me to tell them whether or not to check this one out. If Arnold and Hill are your guys, than put Red Heat on your to watch list. Otherwise, steer clear if mediocre buddy cop actioners aren't your thing. 

Rating: 6.5/10 - I typically don't give scores with a .5 rating, but I am going to give it to Red Heat. Action fans will definitely want to check this out, but its predictability and non-engaging plot pulls it down to the lower ends of action cinema. Than again, a lower level 80s action film is ten times more entertaining than half of today's contemporary action films.