Red Heat (UK) (DVD)

Introduction

2008 promises to be the Summer of Arn, as two of his biggest titles, Total Recall and Terminator 2 come to UK Bluray. To add to the overload, Optimum are also re-releasing four of his memorable titles on DVD, Total Recall, Red Sonja, Raw Deal and Red Heat, both individually and in boxset form. All four titles have previously been released by Momentum, and their boxset is still available, but Optimum are offering something new with one of these titles, which may make the double or in the case of Total Recall, triple dip worthwhile.

1988, the Cold War is thawing, Gorbachev and Reagan are shaking hands in front of the cameras, and it looks like half a century of mutual suspicion and animosity is coming to an end. What a perfect time to make a buddy cop movie, where one is Russian and the other American. So Walter Hill dusts off the old 48 Hours script and changes a couple of the names, James Horner recycles the soundtrack from Commando, replacing the steel drums with one of those unpronounceable Russian instruments, and they start the casting process. So who could play a formidable imposing Russian, with an impenetrable accent and a steely visage? Eddie Murphy was busy so they got Arnold Schwarzenegger instead. But to balance the tough guy with the muscles, they needed a wisecracking American funny guy to provide the laughs. It was ten years too early for Chris Tucker so they got Jim Belushi. All the ingredients were there, what could go wrong?



Ivan Danko is a cop in Russia, fighting the influx of drugs that is rapidly overwhelming his society. One of the figures behind it is Viktor Rosta, but an attempt to arrest him goes wrong, Danko's partner is killed, and Rosta escapes to America. There he plans to continue his enterprise, and begins setting up a deal with a Chicago gang, but he's picked up for a traffic violation and quickly identified. Moscow wants him extradited, so they send Danko to collect Rosta. Only Rosta escapes from custody during the transfer, killing a local cop in the process. That cop's partner, Art Ridzik is one of those maverick, loose cannon cops, and he takes the death of his friend personally. He's been assigned to baby-sit Danko, who himself has been declared a lost cause by Moscow for letting Rosta escape. Now the two have to work together to recapture Rosta, and establish an East West détente in the process.

Picture

A 1.85:1 anamorphic transfer that is what you would expect from a film of this era. There is a hint of grain, a smidgen of print damage, but the film is clear and sharp and presented adequately enough. You'll have no complaints.

Sound

The complaints all apply here. The Momentum release was a DD 5.1 disc, this one is 2.0 Stereo. The dialogue is clear enough, and James Horner's music is quite obviously recycled from Commando. But for the fourth time I'm throwing a hissy fit over Optimum's lack of subtitles.

The lack of subtitles is unforgivable. The most basic selling point of the DVD format is the optional subtitle track, and as I have grown older, it's become clear to me how essential it is. With an aging population, and more and more neighbours intolerant of that DTS home cinema set up, you need them more than ever. If subtitles are a necessity for you, then look up the old Momentum release of this film, which has them, before it is deleted.

Extras

Annoying unskippable logos before both the menu screen and the film, which are annoying because they are long enough to get you pressing the skip button, but too short to let you bugger off and make a cup of tea.

The making of, which was on the Momentum disc, is apparently gone, replaced with three featurettes sourced from the Region 1 release. Stuntman For All Seasons is a 12-minute tribute to coordinator Bennie Dobbins, who died on the set of this film. East Meet West lasts 10 minutes and features interviews with Andrew Vajna and Mario Kassar, the men behind Carolco and countless classic eighties action flicks. This is a retrospective of the making of the film, which probably rendered the original featurette useless. I'm Not Russian! allows Ed O'Ross (Viktor Rosta) to explain that he is American, honestly!

Finally there is a trailer.

Conclusion

The bottom line for this film is, how much can you tolerate Jim Belushi? I can get through the ninety minutes okay, I even enjoy the film, but it would have been so much better if it had been someone else in the role. Not to knock Belushi, he was entertaining in K9, and his turn as a washed up Zen Steven Seagull in Joe Somebody was hilarious. But as a hard-bitten, maverick Chicago cop in one of those classic eighties comedy-action thrillers, I'm just not buying. And let's face it, when Arnold Schwarzenegger gets more laughs than the comic in a film, there are problems.

This isn't one of Arnold's best either, as while he may be perfect casting as the taciturn Danko, it's actually constraining, as what this film needs is some Arnie irony, some of those godawful wisecracks, and some utterly over the top action. Here Arnold plays it a little too straight, and there is just a little too much realism. After all we know that fake security guards wielding batons can't knock down Arnold, no matter how many there are. Chuck Norris maybe, but not Arnie.



So Red Heat is a fairly run of the mill action thriller with a hint of comedy. It recycles everything from the premise to the music, and by this time the formula was getting creaky. It's no Lethal Weapon or 48 Hours, but thankfully it's not Stop, Or My Mom Will Shoot! And there are points of interest, most notably Peter Boyle as a meditating police captain, and a by the book, suit clad cop played by a pre-Matrix Laurence Fishburne. Once you get past the fact that Belushi and Schwarzenegger go together like pizza with ice cream topping, there is entertainment to be had here.