High Heat

As I stumbled upon the 2022 action comedy "High Heat", here late in 2022, I had never heard about the movie. But seeing that the movie had Don Johnson and Olga Kurylenko on the cast list, and having read the movie's synopsis, I was actually having some expectations for the movie.

And now as the movie has come to and end, I am sitting here with an overwhelming sensation of having been cheated out of something grander and somewhat having been wasting my time on a subpar movie. Writer James Pedersen didn't exactly churn out a grand script here for director Zach Golden to work with. Sure, "High Heat" was watchable and had good production value to it, but the storyline was rather flaccid.

It was nice definintely nice to watch Don Johnson and Olga Kurylenko in the leading roles, but they didn't have a wholesome script to work with. And I have to say that the option for bringing on Dallas Page to play the main bad guy in the movie wasn't exactly a stroke of genius.

"High Heat" came and went without leaving a lasting impression, and it is a movie that will slowly, quietly, but surely, dwindle into the mists of oblivion and never be brought out and viewed as second time. It was, in fact, a rather forgettable and sort of pointless action comedy.

My rating of "High Heat" lands on a four out of ten stars.

A one-location and "defend the fort" type of movie, with an attempt at colorful characters and a bunch of bad guys that rush in to their death under the pretense of a thin-layer of a story.

I'll be honest! The alluring, creative and simple intro credits won me over! Then the repetitive and dull dialogue started to lose me.. Doesn't help that most of the cast is comprised of boring roles (with a few exceptions that probably shine when compared) and their interactions forgettable. The pacing is meandering and the sporadic "action scenes" aren't worth it. Even if the camerawork is commendable. I also noticed strange and choppy editing cuts, including sounds abruptly ending.. as if rushed. And when Olga's stunt double is SO visibly-not-her on screen (and doesn't even look like her) for longer than she is, you mark this as a disappointing night.

If you see the SABAN Films logo, you tone down your expectations.

Well, seeing Don Johnson and Olga Kurylenko work on the same project is always tempting and interesting, however doesn't necessarily mean that it will be a winning combination. This movie is kind of a mixture between Mr & Mrs Smith meets Desperate Housewifes meets Boiling Point. The director wanted to put this all together and hope for a fun outcome, but it ended up being a drag although it is only 80 minutes... The side roles appear suddenly like they fall from the sky with no whatsoever background story or connection, just a few sentences between them to get it over with. The story is the cheesiest possible and reminds of an old school action movies when everyone was a former KGB or Cia agent etc.. In the end very boring and dragged out movie although with Don and Olga on board had the potential for more fun.

As much as I love Olga Kurylenko and I do! Even she couldn't carry this mess of a film. It has nothing one can sink their teeth into. I hate to bash on a film but some are "so" bad it can't be helped. The story goes nowhere and ends nowhere. Plus, it's all been done before. Makes me ask myself what is going on with Hollywood Film Making? Their just throwing out pieces like this bomb and not paying attention to their viewers likes. Olga has become one of the best in her field and is truly is a joy to watch. Don Johnson is a well established actor, watching them play off one another wasn't bad. But this film is just a waste of time I'll never view again.

I wasn't expecting much, but I was pleasantly surprised after watching this well-paced 84 min action-comedy film. This is newb filmmaker Zach Golden's second full length feature film as director, and he did not disappoint. It is also James Pedersen's first ever writing credit, and although not perfect, it was still fun. Although some characters were your typical cliched mobsters with cliched dialogue, it still worked, and actually had some laugh out loud moments. All casting and performances were spot-on and convincing, and Golden did a great job directing his cast, especially for a newb director. Even the action scenes were exceptionally filmed and well choreographed. The dark humor was mostly hit with a few misses. Johnson and Kurylenko (who looked stunning) worked very well together, as did Kaitlin Doubleday and Chris Diamantopoulos and their twin daughters, who were a hilarious family right out of the Griswold's playbook. Even the score and cinematography were great, especially for a B film. It's not a perfect film, but it's one of the better and more entertaining B films I've seen this year, and worth a one-time watch. It's a well deserved 7/10 from me.