My review was written in June 1988 after watching the movie on Republic Pictures video cassette.
In the midst of a trend of mismatched cop pics and tv shows, "Arizona Heat" presents a novel variation on the theme. Like filmmaker John Thomas' previous feature "Banzai Runner", this 1986 production is going direct-to-video Stateside, though both films mark him as ready for the big show.
Michael Parks toplines as Kapinski, an Arizona cop with a "manic" reputation due to the level of violence generated on his cases. His boss teams him up with female detective Jill Andrews (Denise Crosbly) who's a pretty but a tough cookie, and duo sets out to find the killer of a string of cops.
Key plot peg is that Jill turns out to be a lesbian, with Kapinski reacting predictably. What's unpredictable is that he goes to bed with her lovely, live-in girlfriend and the already battling partners are really at each other's throats when Jill finds out. Of course, a crisis unites them in the end.
Mystery plot isn't very interesting and the killer's identity is telegraphed from the outset, but director Thomas displays a wry sense of humor and enough odd details to keep the film interesting. Parks and Crosby team effectively, while the Phoenix and Scottsdale locations offer some novelty from the usual screen police beats. Music also helps, with pic atmospherically opening a la "Easy Rider" with Hoyt Axton's "The Pusher' performed by Steppenwolf and closing with Gary Stockdale's excellent out-theme "Caught in the Heat".
