High Heat

The premise sounds fun, and with Olga Kurylenko and Don Johnson also involved I had high hopes. I see the sparks of potential in James Pedersen's screenplay, with hard-hitting action counterbalanced by wry humor; a story of mob and KGB ties returning to haunt Ray and Ana is adjoined with notes of domestic squabbles. The stunts, effects, and otherwise action violence is sharp and terrific, the humor is far too variable but ranges from mildly amusing to cheekily funny, the music adds delightful flavor wherever it raises its head, and the production values reflect the best of modern standards. The cast give excellent performances full of personality, with Kurylenko absolutely standing out with the hard-nosed severity she carries as trained assassin Ana; given smaller supporting parts, I dare say Kaitlin Doubleday, Chris Diamantopoulos, and Bianca and Chiara D'Ambrosio steal the show from all others, and threaten to also upstage Kurylenko.

Yet speaking of those supporting figures, therein lies a prime example of the troubles 'High heat' faces. Kurylenko and Johnson are the stars, but for as much as everyone else dominates the screen, Kurylenko and Johnson almost feel like the support. It's D'Ambrosio and D'Ambrosio who earn the first of only a couple laughs at about the 53-minute mark, and though it's not true across the board, it's the twins, and Doubleday and Diamantopoulos, who seem to benefit from some of the strongest writing. On the other hand, Jackie Long and his character Gary have way too much screen time and aren't as clever as anyone thought. As the picture switches moods to and fro - seen not least in a scene between Long and Diamantopoulos, and also exemplified in Max Di Carlo's music - the pacing drags even more than it already was with excessive scenes of dialogue between Dallas Page, Ivan Martin, and other mafia figures, all of whom seem to speak with an especial droning cadence and timbre. There's unfortunate imbalance between the different ideas here: the action really does look great, but it's deemphasized; the humor adds a bit of fun, though is inconsistent both in its quality and in its dispensation; the narrative in and of itself, and the simple drama it should carry, is smaller than one would ever suppose.

In a runtime of 84 minutes we're one-quarter through before the action kicks up; following the climax, the last beat to resolve the plot in the denouement sails past with a strangely casual, almost indifferent tenor. The diminished presence of Kurylenko and Johnson may have worked if the screenplay were structured differently - say, if it were built to show the persistent efforts and failures of bad guys to bring down Ana, Ray, and the Etoile Rouge, and being foiled at every turn; a more high-octane rendition of 'Home alone, if you will. In that hypothetical circumstance, too, the more selective bursts of action may be fitting, provided a more comedic edge in their stead. As it stands, all too little of 'High heat' feels like it's coming together just right, and the proportions are off in too many important ways. Director Zach Golden has a hard time finding the right tone, too, demonstrating that Pedersen and Di Carlo weren't the only contributors to be dogged by these issues. The crew behind the scenes turned in fine work, and I appreciate the cast, but the end result is an action-comedy where neither the action nor the comedy are particularly satisfying, and a vehicle for two stars who take the back seat to their co-stars.

None of this is to say that I didn't enjoy the feature, and for something light and uninvolved it's a decent enough way to spend one's time. The problem is that too many elements feel a little wrong, and there's no major stroke of brilliance or jolt of vitality to help carry the day. It's entertaining, but no more so than the least of most titles. I'm glad for those who get more out of 'High heat' than I do, and I admire what it does well, but I think this dish needed a different mixture of the same ingredients, cooked longer and more thoroughly, to have really met with the desired success.

This was horrible to watch ... From the first moment, the 2 main characters, Kurylenko and Johnson play a couple but the 30 years of age difference ruins it from the first moment. Why did grandpa Johnson not retire instead of making this crappy movie ? The moment her friend, who comes to help her, is driving the car is hilariuous. The image through the rear window is the same, she keeps talking but you hear the car several times acceleration fast which is not logical. Then you see the road ahead one moment : no cars but behind there were all the time cars. When the masseuse Gary must go to the restaurant, the character is a complete idiotic someone that acts like in a slapstick movie ... I will feel bad all day long because I was forced to give one star and I prefer giving it a zer, but unfortunately, one is the minimum you can give on IMDb...

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 figured with Don Johnson in it the film (movie) would be decent but I was wrong. The actors are mostly forgettable. The script seemed like something a student writer would be encouraged to seek a different career over. Meandering, uninteresting, muddled, boring, flavorless, not comedic engaging or dramatic. I think someone had budget money left over and needed to spend it so they gave Don and Olga 80% of it and then hired volunteers to fill in the cast leaving them with just enough left over to rent a street, a parking garage, 4 vehicles, and part of a commercial kitchen.

In my next life I will not watch this movie.

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.