Movie Review: Red Heat (1988)

DIRECTOR: Walter Hill. CAST: Arnold Schwarzenegger, James Belushi, Peter Boyle, Ed O’Ross, Larry Fishburne, Gina Gershon, Richard Bright, Michael Hagerty, Oleg Vidov, Savely Kramarov, Gabor Koncz, Sven-Ole Thorsen.

Underrated Arnold fare; I wish people gave Red Heat more props when remembering Schwarzenegger’s ‘80s action output. I suppose the mismatched cop story had become a cliché by 1988, but it still works in director Walter Hill’s hands. Arnie is the Russian cop sent to the US to extradite a drug dealer on the lam from killing his partner. James Belushi is the smartass Chicago cop assigned to drive him around, but gets involved when the drug dealer kills his partner too. They tear through the streets of Chicago, comparing proper policing methods and getting in trouble with their superiors before concluding by playing a game of “chicken” with two Greyhound buses. Schwarzenegger & Belushi end the Cold War when they develop a mutual respect and realize that they can work together despite their cultural differences. Although it is not as over the top action-packed as one might want it to be, Hill’s direction keeps Red Heat at a fast ‘n’ fun pace much like his earlier 48 HRS.