Review of Red Heat

Introduction

Well, I`m on Arnie overload at the moment having recently watched Commando and Predator (check out the reviews). Now Red Heat puts its head above the parapet to see if it stands the test of time unlike the disappointing Commando.

Featuring Arnie as a humourless tough Russian cop sent to America to retrieve a drug dealer/cop killer and Belushi as the wisecracking American cop with no regard for procedure, Red Heat was one of the films during the peak of Schwarzenegger`s box office success and popularity.

This is one of the best cop double acts of all time, Lethal Weapon included.

Video

Video is presented in Letterbox widescreen at 1.85:1. Obviously I would have preferred an anamorphic transfer but the quality is not bad and does not exhibit any problems.

This film was oddly the first film allowed to shoot in Moscow`s Red Square, and consequently has the bonus of the real location rather than some cobbled-together fake. Once in America the locations are relatively uninspiring as the focus turns to the double act and action sequences.

Audio

The soundtrack has been remixed into Dolby Diigtal 5.1 and sounds pretty good. There`s plenty of use of the soundstage with some suitably pacey music. There`s a reasonable of left-right/rfront-rear etc action and the sound definetly adds to the enjoyment of the movie. There`s plenty of gunfire etc to keep the speakers busy.

Dialogue is clear and well directed throughout - great to allow you to hear those one-liners in all their glory!

Features

A trailer and rather uninteresting cast/crew bio is all that is on offer.

I would have liked to see some background material on the snow-fight at the start, or perhaps the filming inside Red Square, but alas that`s not to be found.

Conclusion

Overall, this was very enjoyable - I`ve seen it a few times before but it held my attention and raised numerous laughs.

Belushi is exceptional in Red Heat. His attitude is perfect, the one-liners hilarious and perfectly timed, and his rapport with Arnie is fantastic. Schwarzenegger`s role as the no-nonsense Russian is a typical role for him - limited dialogue and plenty of one-liners but the two of them get the balance just about right. There`s plenty of action to keep you amused and the film really hasn`t aged too badly.

Picture and sound are both above average despite the letterbox transfer.

This film is a good example of the police action genre and is a good laugh into the bargain. Recommended for a night in with the friends and a few cold beers.