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.
