Red Heat (1988) - Walter Hill

After his partner is killed in the line of duty by a ruthless Georgian drug lord, Captain Ivan Danko departs to America in order to track the drug lord down in the name of justice.  On his arrival in the states, Drago finds himself not only dealing with cultural differences between American and Russian justice but also cocky Chicago police detective, Art Ridzik, who may be the only man who can help Danko track down his wanted man.  During its initial release Walter Hill's Red Heat was written off as a recycled version of 48 hours, consisting of another unlikely star pairing.  This isn't entirely fair to the film but there is no denying that Red Heat is by-and-large an uninspired action film that is no doubt a minor entry for its star, Arnold Schwarzenegger and director, Walter Hill.  Red Heat isn't a bad film but the plot of this film is pretty generic and uninteresting outside of a few moments between its two stars.  There really isn't anything about Red Heat that makes it unique or interesting in the slightest, outside of the obvious fish-out-of-water gimmick.  Arnold Schwarzenegger's stern demeanor coupled with James Belushi's wise-cracking attitude is the best aspect of this film, making  makes it watchable but I can certainly understand why Red Heat is one of the most forgotten films from both Arnold Schwarzenegger and Walter Hill's filmography.
6/10

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