Arnold Schwarzenegger doggedly whacks Russian monsters in this superb action cop duo flick! Though not the strongest of his 80's action bundle, Red Heat still offers a lot to enjoy and will appeal to Arnie fans and action movie fans alike. Arnie plays Russian cop Ivan Danko - pulling off a funny accent - as he travels to Chicago, U.S.A to retrieve Russian fugitive Viktor Rostavili (played by American actor Ed O'Ross - whom pulls off a really convincing accent), whom fled to the States following the murder of a fellow Cop associated with Danko. Rostavili is caught up in an illegal scheme of heroin to ship out to Russia. The plot of the movie revolves around the theme of revenge, as Danko is partnered by Chicago cop Art Ridzik (played proficiently by Jim Belushi), whom lost a friend and veteran cop to Rostavili's Russian mobsters. The chemistry between Danko and Ridzik is noteworthy and excellent. Belushi really nails his part as tough-mouthed Chicago wise-ass cop whom is witty and energetic to the point of having a great sense of character, and this fits perfectly with Schwarzenegger's Danko whom is unbeknownst of American slang and cockiness. As I stated not Schwarzenegger's 80's best but Red Heat is still a great action movie, giving Arnie the challenge of nailing a Russian pistol-bearing cop along with the dogged Belushi - and their on screen chemistry is nothing short of surprises.

The first 15 minutes of the movie occurs in Red Square in Moscow. Grim, Stone-faced, distant Moscow homicide cop Ivan Danko (Arnold Schwarzenegger) tries to apprehend Russian Georgian drug dealer Viktor Rostavili (Ed O'Ross) and his brother. Viktor escapes, but not before he shoots Danko's partner, Yuri. In turn, Viktor's brother is killed. Viktor escapes to Chicago, where he teams up with black thugs known as the Cleanheads. They are cocaine pushers. Danko is sent to Chicago where he teams up with vocal, wisecracking, plainclothes detective Art Ridzik (John Belushi) in order to track down Victor to extradite him. After he was captured and escorted by Danko and Ridzik, though, Viktor escaped when he was assisted by the Cleanheads, who were dressed like policemen. Ridzick's partner was killed in the mêlée. Thus the only plot of this action-thriller is to capture Viktor; there is neither mystery nor intrigue. There are, however, the obligatory shoot-outs and chase scenes. Note that neither Ridzick nor Danko believes in the Miranda Act. The ending involves a bus chase through the streets of Chicago at night, followed by a duel. This is the first movie in which an American director was allowed to film on location in Red Square. It was also filmed in Budapest and in Chicago.

"Red heat" is somewhere in the middle when it comes to Schwarzenegger movies. It 's not one of his greatest movies but it's definitely far from being terrible. If you like action comedies , you'll like this one. It's nothing new , but the formula works."Red heat" was made in the age of glasnost and perestroika . That explains the idea of combining a Russian cop with an American one. It's a tribute to the increasing spirit of détente between East and West. It also could be a reason why the movie was successful at the box office , while "Rambo 3" failed (Stallone didn't noticed that fighting Russians isn't cool anymore). "Red Heat" became the first American film for which permission was granted by the Soviet authorities to shoot in Red Square itself.Arnold Schwarzenegger plays the part of Russian supercop Ivan Danko. He fits the role perfectly , because of his size and looks. Even his accent works , although it does sound more German than Slavic. Arnold is stoic , quiet and violent. He is simply believable. His partner in this movie is Polish American cop Art Ridzik played by Jim Belushi. Belushi is likable enough as the foul mouthed cop from Chicago. His a typical comic relief that tries to put a funny one liner as often as it possible. Belushi sometimes overacts and sometimes is more annoying than funny , but overall he does a good job here. The most laughs however come from Arnold and the cultural differences between Russia and USA.Director Walter Hill reuses the same formula from "48 hours". Here the contrasts are not just between the personalities of the cop duo , but also between the American and Soviet systems of law enforcement. "This Chicago is very strange city. Your crime is organized, but your police is not." The film itself is just alright, neither good not bad. There's no real problem or fault with "Red Heat" except that it offers a fare amount (but just not enough) of laughs and thrills. There is no real chemistry between Belushi and Schwarzenegger. The plot is rather muddled and doesn't offer any real mystery. There are some familiar faces in the supporting roles – Peter Boyle ("Dream team") , Laurence Fishburne ("Matrix") , Gina Gershon and Brion James ("Blade runner") , but they aren't given anything interesting to do. The score by James Horner is neither good or bad (you can hear the echo of "Gorky Park" score here).The action scenes are well shot and edited. You can clearly see what's going on and there's none of that modern shaky hand-held camera movement or ultra quick cut editing. Thank God. The movie has few memorable scenes : the fight in sauna (hilarious) , the leg scene (awesome, just watch the movie) and the bus chase (quite exciting , if not copied from "48 hours") .I give it 5/10. Some comedic value , some action , some nice one-liners. It doesn't break any new ground , but it delivers quite well what it promises . Fans of the genre should be satisfied.

Walter Hill is an Underrated Director of B-Movies. But when given an A-Budget His Films tend to Suffer and this is a prime Example. It is Not Awful but is more Embarrassing than it Needs to be. The Comedy is Inconsistent with a Couple of Funny Lines but James Belushi Overacts so Shamelessly that most of the time He is just a Cringe magnet.Arnold is OK with His Terminator like Performance, of a Stereotypical Russian, Works well. But the Chemistry with Belushi Never Clicks. Ed O'Ross as the Villain is quite Scary. The Typical Walter Hill Violence is in Evidence but is rather Ho Hum and Repetitive. Even the Bus Chase and Standoff Finale Fizzles and isn't Filmed with much Pizazz.Overall, this is a huge Waste of Talent and that includes Laurence Fishburne, Gina Gershon, and Peter Boyle. A Mess really, this is One that the Director probably would like to have back because Considering the Money Spent and the Talent on Display, Walter Hill is much too Good to make a Flick this Bad.It was a Money Maker and was made at the Height of Eighties Buddy Cop Movies and Arnold's Career was Peeking. But Overall this is Average at best and at Worst one of the Director's more Glaring Failures.