Los verdugos de la mafia

The story seems to wander a lot, but somehow holds together enough to be enjoyable. The mixture of comedy and violence at times does not work well, and is the main fault I have with "Dead Heat". Kiefer Sutherland and Anthony LaPaglia have good chemistry when the film is in comedy mode, but their relationship loses steam as the drama increases. Daniel Benzali deserves special mention. He is excellent as the heavy. The racing scenes are unpolished, and by the way, what racetrack keeps horses in a corral? The on again, off again, love interest between Kiefer and and Radha Mitchell is somewhat redundant and could have been trimmed. Marginally recommended. - MERK

Ok, so this isn't a great movie. But, it's entertaining, and the chemistry is spot-on. I admit, I dug the so-so romance between Sutherland and his estranged wife. I found the entire plot, while ill-constructed, fun enough to pass as a really well-meaning movie. It was fun, and the acting was good all around. Being the sucker for saucy fellows that I am, seeing Sutherland as such a good person was rather surprising, but he played it well all the same. I can't say I'd recommend this one for anything more than the channel surfer or the die hard Sutherland fan, but it's got some great moments and a fun little story, despite moments of obvious cheese and silliness.

I ordered this DVD without even seeing the movie first, because I am a fan of both Kiefer Sutherland and of Anthony LaPaglia. From the little I read about it, I thought it was gonna be a straight drama, so, what a pleasant surprise to find so much humor in the movie. Kiefer, after working non-stop for years, is finally getting long over-due recognition for his excellent work in FOX TV's "24", and Anthony LaPaglia has been a fave since I saw him in the much underseen "29th Street". These two stars have great onscreen chemistry and it makes for a fun movie to watch. Kiefer plays a cop who is forced to retire after a heart attack, and isn't happy about being sidelined at age 35. Anthony plays his "on the other side of the law" hyper half-brother, who drags him kicking, into buying a racehorse. They get involved with mob guys and there are some very dark moments due to the danger suddenly brought to their lives, but, that horse brings Kiefer back to life and he and his brother will do anything to keep it. I think you'll like this flick.

When he suffers heart attack on the job, resulting in a criminal escaping, Pally LaMarr retires from the police force. Turning to drink and contemplating suicide he is offered distraction by his step brother Ray LaMarr who tries to bring him in on a deal to buy a race horse. The horse is slow but Ray realises that minor surgery will free him up. They go through with the deal and bring Tony LaRoche on board as the jockey. However LaRoche owes money to the mob, so the mob take the horse. Stealing the horse back, Ray makes a deal to pay off the debt within a month or to give up the horse.

I watched this film because I do like Kiefer Sutherland and have grown keener on him now that I am watching him weekly on 24. I had reasonable hopes for this because it did start quite well and was quite stylish in the opening 10 minutes. However after this point the darkness opens up and it appears to be an uneasy mix of comedy and drama, neither of which really work. The plot is very plodding and very little actually happens in the film – certainly there is no real tension for the most part.

Events happen which are almost without consequence (for example one of the mob goes missing but nothing is really mentioned of it again in the film) and things just seem to meander until an ending that is far too neat for it's own good. In fact the final scene of the film is silly and abrupt – like the film didn't so much end as, well, stop. It is mildly interesting but this has nothing to do with the plot.

What made it watchable was the chemistry between Sutherland and LaPaglia, although neither gave a particularly good performance. They came across well together and made for an pairing that I'd like to see again in a much better film. Sutherland is a little hampered as he doesn't know how to play his character – at times he is comic, others he is dark, others he is free and light. There is no consistence and it seems to be whatever the tone of the scene requires – certainly his stress in one scene quickly vanishes for a more comic scene following. LaPaglia is a poor character here, his `furgett-abot it' acting is clichéd and tired and wastes his talents. Bluteau is really, really poor – his accent is way off somewhere and his character is as thin as paper. The support cast are OK but have little to do – but even with a dream support cast I doubt this film could have been lifted above the material.

The direction etc is pretty standard. After some style early on the film falls away and uses too much rock music etc and lots of `clever' shots that are just pointless – more time should have been spend on the story and delivering characters and drama. Overall I had reasonable hopes but these were dashed early on. It delivers so very little that it is almost a non-film. Ask me about it in and year and I'm sure I'll have no memory of it.

This is an enjoyable movie with polished acting, humerous one liners and a plot that sees a cop who has retired on medical grounds thrown into a situation that would see his doctor wanting to put him back in the force.

It is not the most original movie you will see, with the now expected cast including, the ex-wife, dodgy brother and cute bad kid BUT throw in a bent jockey, cheap racehorse and the mob and the whole thing ticks along nicely. This movie won't win oscars but will win friends...6.5/10